


Leave Me

by purpleeyestelllies



Series: Slave Me [3]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Anal Fingering, Angst, BDSM, Blow Jobs, Body Worship, Bondage, Daddy Kink, Dom/sub, Double Anal Penetration, Double Penetration, Dubious Consent, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Established Relationship, Face-Fucking, Humiliation, Light Bondage, M/M, Master/Slave, Multi, Physical Abuse, Power Dynamics, Punishment, Rape, Riding, Sex as a Bargaining Chip, Sexual Abuse, Slavery, Spanking, Threesome - M/M/M, like literally so must angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-03-13 21:21:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 33,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18948898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purpleeyestelllies/pseuds/purpleeyestelllies
Summary: Liam can feel Zayn's happiness slipping away, and he would do anything to save it. But who is willing to give more, Zayn or his slave?*CURRENTLY UPDATING EVERY FRIDAY!*





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> OMG IT'S HERE! I know you have been waiting literally years for this and I truly truly hope I do this series justice. I'll tell you since I've picked it up again and started writing, I have fallen in love with the story all over again. 
> 
> For future reference: There will be a shit ton of triggers throughout. I'll try to put appropriate ones at the beginning of chapters, but just know this fic will be hard to read. Take care of yourself first, read this second.
> 
> I love you all and live for the support you've shown. Let's get this madhouse on the road, shall we?
> 
> Enjoy xo

 

The long road to the city was filled with silence and bursting with anxiety. Zayn's hands were shaking on the steering wheel by the time they crossed the city lines, a reflective green sign marking their entrance. "We should check the old house, and the office, and..." Zayn sighed out a shaky breath, but Niall put a hand on his forearm and squeezed. If Zayn would've had the presence of mind, he would've slapped it away.

"Let's get the boys something to eat, a bathroom break. Regroup," the blond suggested.

Zayn pulled off the main road and whipped into an empty parking lot. "Bathroom break?" he asked incredulously. "We just got here, and who knows where Liam is!" Zayn saw Harry flinch in his peripherals, but couldn't focus on it. "If you aren't going to help me find him, get out of the car."

"Zayn, of course we want to help," Louis tried, but Zayn turned a stoic, hateful look on him. "Sorry," the slave corrected immediately.

"We haven't eaten or gone piss all day. My boys need to get out of the car for a minute," Niall argued. "You and I can talk about how to do this, and then we'll go."

The darker Master's eyes went unfocused, the blurry logo on his steering wheel sweeping back and forth in his vision.  _My boys._  Niall had BOTH of his slaves sitting in the back of  _his_  car, and Zayn's was out there. Alone. Niall had always been a better Master than he was. He thought of his slaves before himself, did what he needed to, and didn't let his emotions get the best of him. "Okay," he agreed slowly, distracted.

When he reached for the gear shift, Niall stopped him. "Let me drive, Zayn." Zayn's resolve was crumbling, and Niall's voice left no room for debate. He nodded and got out, brushing by Niall as they passed in front of the car. When they were in their places, Niall pulled out of the parking lot and searched for somewhere to stop, somewhere with food. Once he'd found one, he pulled in and turned around in his seat. 

"Boys, go inside. Eat and go to the bathroom. We'll be in in a minute." Harry and Louis didn't even nod, just got out and went inside. Niall sighed, long and slow, and turned towards Zayn. "Talk to me, please."

Zayn didn't realize he'd closed his eyes until he opened them again and the late morning sun made him squint. "And say what?"

"I don't know, Zayn. Maybe start with why Liam is hours from home."

"If I knew, I wouldn't be losing my mind right now, Niall!" Zayn hit his fist against the dash, sinking in his seat.

The younger Master pressed his lips together and picked at the stitching along the console to keep from looking at the pain on his best friend's face. "You're smarter than that. Think about it. Why did he leave?"

Zayn let his head fall back against the seat, eyes shutting heavily, as he shook his head. "I don't know." The words were desperate, his voice breaking over the last one. "He fell asleep with me. Let me back in our bed," Niall made a sympathetic sound at the news, "but then I woke up and he was gone."

"I don't want to say this, but you're sure he didn't just...leave."

Zayn popped his eyes open and glared at Niall. "No." More firmly, "No."

"Okay," Niall relented.

"Liam doesn't run when he's angry or scared. He bursts, can't hold it in anymore. I would know if he was leaving. He wouldn't have been able to keep it to himself." Zayn clenched his fist in reassurance. He  _knew_  that about Liam.

Niall nodded. "Okay. Last night you went to bed together. After everything?"

"We didn't even talk about it. He wouldn't let me." Zayn wiped his palms on his trousers. "I tried, but-but he wouldn't. Just wanted me to-" Zayn let out a startled sob. "He just wanted me to hold him."

Niall rubbed soothingly across Zayn's shoulder. "Then, what changed his mind?"

"I have no idea." Zayn scratched his thigh distractedly. "Probably the fact that he thinks I'm still in love with Louis," he scoffed, brow furrowed.

"But you're not?"

The look Zayn leveled his mate with was incredulous. "Are you kidding?"

Niall held his hands up in surrender. "I'm just wondering."

If Niall was unsure, Zayn could only imagine the turmoil inside Liam. His slave must feel completely betrayed. Something that was so impossible in his own mind must seem the only logical response in Liam's. "Louis broke my heart. He walked away, and I thought I'd never breathe again. I thought he would end me." Niall placed a hand over Zayn's on his thigh. "And he did. For a long time."

The older man bit down on his lip to contain his smile. "Then, I found Liam. Literally. Just found him. Shit, Niall, that  _one_  moment changed everything."

"But Louis was there first and you never got any closure. He was the one that got away. It's easy to think you'd want to fix that."

Zayn yanked his hand away but only used it to rake shaking fingers through his hair. "That was never an option. The last thing I want is... _anything_ but Liam."

"You're sure?"

Zayn didn't even look at Niall when he said, "Doubt me one more time and I swear, Niall, I'll hit you."

The blond Master only laughed, but it was watery. "Just making sure because..."

The waver in Niall's voice made Zayn swivel his head and look at him. "What?"

"I love him, Zee," Niall admitted quietly.

Zayn nodded, knowing. "What matters is that he loves you back. That's the difference."

"He loves you. He does," Niall urged. "Just not-"

"Like he loves you and Harry," Zayn finished. "I know."

Niall placed a firm hand on Zayn's shoulder. "Will we ever get over this?"

With a sharp inhale and a slow, measured exhale, Zayn allowed, "Help me get my slave back and we'll see."

A tap on the window made both Masters jump, and Niall rolled his window down for his two slaves. "Did you eat?"

Louis held up a giant bag of greasy food. "Brought it with to save time. We can eat in the car."

Harry plucked at his lip with his thumb and first finger. "It felt awful just standing in line while Liam was out there."

Emotion filled Zayn's chest, pushing tingles through his arms and down his back as he fought back the pressure of tears. "Get in you two," he said with measurable fond in his voice. "I want to talk to you." Both slaves slipped in the back and Louis let the bag of food go, hitting softly on the floor of the car. Zayn turned to the two lads, the weight of the situation like a physical presence in his eyes. Louis must have seen the heaviness in them because he furrowed his brow in concern and gripped his own knee. Harry, always the empath, couldn't keep his worry under his breath.

"Zee?" the green-eyed slave murmured.

Zayn looked to him, the lines of his face smoothing out. "I want you to know that I love you." Harry's mouth slipped into a timid smile but he didn't seem convinced. "Both of you." Zayn's eyes slipped from Harry to Louis. "I do." Louis' hint a smile was enough to confirm how he felt, too. The Master swallowed hard. "You two have been a huge part of my life, and I don't want to lose either of you."

Harry reached forward and laced his fingers with Zayn's on the console between the front seats. Zayn squeezed, absorbing the firmness of Harry's grip. "A long time ago, you three chose each other over me." Niall visibly flinched, but Zayn just exhaled slowly. "Less than a year ago, I chose Liam over all of you. So, I can't pretend I don't understand."

"I thought it was different because Louis had rightfully been mine, but Liam had rightfully belonged to not one but two other Masters. Then, I made the excuse that I was saving Liam and nothing else mattered. It wasn't fair to assume that my love was any more important or grand than your love. I have done things I never thought I would do for the man I love. How can I fault you three for doing the same?" Zayn swiped at a tear and ducked his head down to avoid the sympathetic looks from the other men.

After a long silence, Niall spoke quietly. "We love you, too, you know." A laugh bubbled out of Zayn at that. Like it was that simple.

Maybe it was.

"I mean it," Niall urged. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't. Our pasts are," he waved a hand, "rubbish, but I have loved and been loved, and that's something most don't ever get to have."

"You, too," Louis added.

Zayn raised a brow. "What?"

"You have loved and been loved, too. Not just by Liam." Louis raked his hand through his growing locks. "I loved you. Still do. Always will."

Zayn was just starting to understand what that meant. Loving someone didn't always mean owning them. Sometimes it meant letting them go. Zayn's small smile was enough to confirm how he felt, too. 


	2. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam gets to the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the plan. I'm going to post this one and one tomorrow to get y'all started (you know how I do) and then I'm going to make Friday's post days - #LeaveMeFriday. Weekly, just like the two others. 
> 
> I've already received so much love just from chapter one and I am ecstatic about the response. It's amazing that you guys are taking to this story so keenly. I love you for it.
> 
> Anyway, let's get to the drama. Enjoy xo

The city felt tiny. It used to be a large, glorious wonderland, a playground for him and Zayn. They had a small window of bliss; they could go where they please, do what they pleased. His world had gotten so much bigger when he met Zayn, when the Master showed him everything they could have.

Now the city seemed to be pressing in on him. The large buildings and wide streets were now narrow and oppressive. They all seemed to be leading him to one place, and it wasn’t where he intended.

Liam pulled up to the house he and Zayn had built a life in. He remembered the first time he’d pulled up to this house- beaten and bloody in the back seat of one of Zayn’s town cars. The gravel had that familiar crunch under the tires. Each pebble coerced his feet towards the large front door.

He pushed it open with a grunt, he’d forgotten how heavy it was. The real estate agent had changed the rug just inside the door. Liam felt a distant pang of sadness for the old one before walking across the new one towards the massive set of stairs.

His mind flashed back; Zayn rushing up the stairs to avoid Liam. Liam shouting at him to stop, to just talk to him. The desperation he’d felt in that moment. He knew that there was a chance he would lose Zayn forever if he didn’t do something.

Liam could laugh about it now, the look on Zayn’s face, the look on everyone’s face. He smiled to himself and he ascended that staircase, hand hovering along the railing. He got to the exact step Zayn had frozen on and closed his eyes. He inhaled the moment and swore he could smell Zayn’s cologne.

When he opened his eyes he half expected to see the man he loved, but he was alone. Liam’s shoulders sank and he continued on. He walked down the hallway towards their room and his old room. It was amusing that Zayn kept them so close together. Liam hadn’t realized how unusual it was back then.

He couldn’t quite bring himself to go to their room yet, so he went down the hall to his old room. The room he’d found his uniform in. The room he’d bled all over the sheets in. The room he’d spent too many nights touching himself to the memory of Zayn in a suit.

It looked exactly as he’d left it. The bed was beautifully kept; he liked to think that was his doing, but the agent had probably fixed it up. His bathroom still had that gargantuan painting he’d picked up and brought home. He’d been so proud.

The weight of their bedroom door taunted him. It was now or never. He walked back to the familiar wooden threshold with its shiny golden knob. What if he went in and everything was how they’d left it. Zayn’s book half read on the nightstand. Liam’s pair of dirty shorts in the corner.

Liam closed his eyes and opened the door. When he lifted his head nothing was the same. Every trace of them, their lives, was gone. Their sheets were different, their dresser, their artwork. Somehow that was more painful.

He had to get out of there. Liam ran out of the room and back down the stairs. The heavy front door slammed behind him as he dashed around the front of the car and slid inside. In the silence, he let his forehead fall against the steering wheel and cried. What was he doing there? He had no right to go back to that place and pretend like it was still theirs. Liam ripped off his pairing ring and threw it towards the passenger seat; it clanged but he didn't follow where it landed. 

He was just wasting time. He knew where he needed to go.

 

 

If the rest of the city felt small, this one building seemed to implode with the weight of itself. Liam looked up and then up some more to the top floor where he knew, if Marcus was here, he would find him there. Yet somehow the glass doors were impervious; they kept Liam from moving a single step towards his goal.

The moment he stepped through those doors, he could be marked, arrested, or even killed on sight. If he wasn’t, he’d still have to somehow get to the top floor. If he accomplished all of that, he still had to face Marcus- that tyrant, that tormentor. Why was he doing this?

Zayn. His Master. Their family. What could be their family if only he could fix this. He felt sick to his stomach that he’d forgotten, even for a moment, the reason he was here. If he forgot what-  _who_ \- he was doing this for at any point during the next twenty-four hours, he would surely lose himself, and Zayn.

He steadied his mind with a deep breath and walked through the doors into the lobby that he used to walk through with care and fondness. Liam went straight to the desk where Jeanine was typing furiously while blankly staring at the screen.

Liam cleared his throat, but the receptionist didn’t flinch a bit. “Jeanie?”

Jeanine slowly raised her eyes, weary and confused, but they widened when she saw who it was. She fawned, “Oh, my god, you look so good, but tired; darling, when did you last get a good night’s sleep?” Then the situation seemed to hit her and she leaned forward and lowered her voice. “What are you doing here? If they find you, Marcus will kill you.”

Liam only smiled, accepting. “I need to see him.”

“No,” Jeanine said with a disbelieving huff. “No way.”

“I  _need_  to, Jeanie. Please, it’s important.”

Jeanine was shaking her head before he even finished. “What you need is to walk back out those doors. Go home to your Master. You know, the one that risked his life to save you?” That hit Liam in the gut like a steel hammer. It must have shown all over his face because Jeanine did flinch then. “I only mean, you’re finally free. You shouldn’t be here and putting all that at risk.”

“I’m here to save all that. If I don’t talk to Marcus, I’ll lose Zayn.”

“Why?”

Liam shook his head. “I can’t. I just need you to do this one thing for me. Please.  _Please_.”

Jeanine chewed her bottom lip between her teeth while she leveled Liam with an assessing gaze. Finally, she sighed and handed him a card. “Ten minutes.” Liam took the card quickly. “Be careful,” she reminded.

“I think that went out the window 250 miles ago or so.” Liam leaned across the desk. “When Zayn comes looking for me, probably with company, don’t tell him I was here. I just need time.”

“Liam, I don’t know…”

“I need you to trust me. I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think I had any other way.” Jeanine nodded at that and, satisfied, Liam walked away with his head lowered and eyes off the extra guards that had seemed to accumulate in the lobby since they’d been gone. He entered the lift with a heavy heart and heavy shoulders. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is too hard. Maybe I should just skip the story and write Zayn and Liam going back home and fucking through all their issues? What do you say?
> 
> Nah, I love the pain. 
> 
> Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	3. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn gets to the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted a mirror of the situation from Zayn's and Liam's pov for comparison. Things will really start to build in a couple of chapters. Until then, enjoy the angst. Xo

Zayn never thought of their city as being a large one. He'd visited quite a few cities for business, and their own had always seemed small in comparison. He had his favorite coffee shop, his favorite grocery store, his favorite liquor store all in a few blocks radius. He lived his life within fifteen minutes of everything unless he wanted to go uptown for a night out. Their skyscrapers weren't as tall, their roads not as wide, their traffic not as bad as other places.

But when you've lost something, some _one_ , the city seemed gigantic.

They started at their old house (still on the market and empty). Zayn burst through the front door and straight up to what was Liam's old room. It was clean. Almost eerily so. The bed was smooth and tucked. The Master tore through the drawers and closet for signs of life, but everything was empty. The bathroom was devoid of personal touches, except the painting Liam had picked up at the craft market a few weeks after he’d come here. They’d left it because it was too big for their new place.

Zayn walked up to it, remembering Liam's wide smile as he came through the front door with the huge piece dragging along the floor under one arm. Now, he reached up, running fingers over the brushstrokes, before gripping both sides of the thick wooden frame and lifting it off the hook that held it up. He shimmied with it out of the bathroom and tucked it under his arm as he went down the hall to his room, stubborn as it banged the wall and caught his foot making him stumble.

He left the painting at the door and went inside. "Liam?" he called fruitlessly. His room was the same, but not his anymore. The agent selling it must've thought his style wasn’t likable enough, because the sheets, curtains, and decor were all different. Where he'd left a heavy bust of Henry David Thoreau, there was now a freeform glass blowing piece. He momentarily had the urge to throw the glass thing across the room but resisted and instead went back out to the hall.

Niall and Harry were coming up the stairs. "There's nothing in the theatre or servants hall," Niall informed. Then they tried Liam's (and Zayn's) coffee shop. Then the theatre before Niall reminded him that Liam wasn't here for pleasure.

They knew where they had to go.

They'd started with the house because it was the safest. As far as they knew, no one knew they were in town. Coming back could get them all in trouble with the wrong people. The company was next. Hopefully, Marcus didn't spend any time there - despite his new role as CEO and chairman - and the employees could still be loyal to Zayn and Niall.

Both Niall and Zayn donned hats and sunglasses as they parked the car and walked into the lobby. People were milling about, paying them no attention. Zayn went to the desk and cleared his throat before asking, "Is Marcus in?"

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked without looking up.

"Um, no, but I-"

“Mr. DeWare is unavailable without an appointment."

"I know that line, Jeanine. I taught it to you."

The girl finally looked up and her eyes went wide. "Seriously, Mr. Malik? Oh my god. You shouldn't be here."

"I know. Is Marcus here?"

"No, and you better be glad he's not. He's in a foul mood," she blurted before catching herself and pressing her lips together.

The words hit Zayn like an arrow to the heart. "Is everyone okay? You're still getting healthcare and all that?"

Jeanine scoffed. "So far, Mr. DeWare doesn't care enough to make any changes as long as we're making him money, but he's got people in the building that, you know, spy on us."

Niall leaned in and whispered to Zayn. "We don't have time for this, Zayn."

The girl leaned over and looked at Niall. "Hi, Mr. Horan. How are you?"

The sparkle in her eye was unmistakable. She was always a fan of the blond Irishman. "Hi there."

"He's good," Harry answered for him. "Being taken and all." Louis rolled his eyes.

Jeanine had the grace to look reprimanded and sat back in her chair. Zayn ignored the green-eyed lad and leaned across the counter. "Has Liam been here?" She looked suddenly sheepish. "Jeanine?"

“I’m not supposed to say.”

“So that’s a yes.”

"I mean, he came through here like a few hours ago, refused to leave until he saw Mr. DeWare - who happened to be here for the first time in like three weeks, mind you - and they left together. But I'll tell you, neither one of them looked very happy. Like, mad."

"Liam. My Liam. Left with Marcus. A couple of hours ago."

"But not like that. Liam would never."

“Obviously," all four men said at the same time.

"I don't know what he wanted. You could go upstairs and see if anyone else knows. But, like I said, be careful."

Zayn tapped the desk. "Thanks, Jeanine. Can I get a key to the exec floor?"

Jeanine looked to her left, her right, and across the lobby floor before reaching under her desk and pulling a key from a drawer. "Have it back to me in ten. I’m totally going to lose my job."

"You're a saint," Zayn praised.

They shuffled over to the elevator, trying to be as inconspicuous as they could in a hat and glasses indoors. No one got on the lift with them so they relaxed back against the metal and inserted the key before pressing the top floor.

"Why would Liam leave with Marcus?" Harry asked, hand twined with Niall's.

"Whatever it was, it can't be good," Louis assumed.

Zayn huffed, "Yeah, thanks for that, Lou."

"Not like that. Just...yeah, okay, sorry."

The elevator dinged and the door swooshed open. Zayn took the key in hand and led the group onto the floor. Familiar faces filled most of the offices. Unfamiliar faces stood at the edges of the room. Zayn tried not to look like a criminal, sliding his glasses off his face and on to his shirt. The office at the end of the room, Zayn's old one, was dark.

The dark-haired Master stopped at a desk he knew. "Clark."

Clark looked up and his mouth dropped open before quickly recovering and looking slowly to a man standing at the corner of the room. "Hello, sir. What can I do for you?"

"Jeanine told me Liam had been here," Zayn whispered and Clark nodded. "Do you know why?"

"I'm sorry, sir. That's not my area, um, but I'm sure Kelsey could help you." He looked with purpose over Niall's ex-assistant's desk.

"Thank you," he murmured.

Niall slipped in front of Zayn and drummed on the desk and hummed, "Kelsey, dove."

Kelsey didn't look up, but her fingers froze mid-word on her keyboard. "If I look up and Harry isn't with you, I'm going to ignore you and go back to work. Because you're the bomb, Mr. Horan, but I'm only willing to lose my job for Harry."

Harry smiled wide and leaned over, elbow on her desk and chin in his hand. "Hey there, gorgeous."

"Harold, my sunshine."

"Oh, I like her," Louis offered.

"You guys shouldn't be here," Kelsey warned.

"Yeah, we've heard. But we need to ask you something important."

"Yes, Liam was here."

"And he left?"

"With Marcus," she confirmed.

"Why?"

Kelsey started to answer but snapped her mouth shut as a thick man in a dark suit walked by. "We can surely change that appointment for your boss, sir. I understand how important his business is here." The assistant started scribbling blindly on a piece of paper while she smiled up at Harry. "Let me send you down to our marketing department and I'll let them know you're coming." She slid the piece of paper across the desk and picked up her phone.

"Thank you," Harry said with a little more gusto than was necessary for an appointment change.

She just nodded and pretended to press some buttons on her phone. "Have a good day, sir." The man walked away and so did the four of them. They didn't look around, didn't speak, until they were in the elevator. Doors shut, Harry opened the folded piece of paper and read out, "'Make a deal' and then something like 'sun square'. I don't know, I can't read it."

“She never had great handwriting,” Niall recalled.

Zayn snatched the paper away and read it over again. "What kind of deal would Liam go to the most dangerous, powerful man in the city for? What did he need so badly he couldn't tell me?" Zayn crumpled up the piece of paper and shoved it in his pocket. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone say it with me, "Aww, poor Zayn." I know you're thinking it. 
> 
> This is will the last chapter until next Friday, which will be the regular update day. Let's get this party started, friends. 
> 
> Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	4. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam makes a deal with Marcus. Zayn is hot on their trail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first of the regular uploads. Happy #LeaveMeFriday everybody! Enjoy xo

Marcus was exactly like Liam remembered him. For a while after they moved, Liam thought he'd exaggerated how intimidating and off-putting Marcus was.

He hadn't.

"You better make this worth my while, slave. I could put you down right now and it would be your own fault," Marcus quipped, not even deeming to face Liam as he spoke. He continued across the dimly lit space to the large cherry wood desk in his office. When he reached it, he didn't sit like Liam thought he might. Instead, he opened the top drawer and pulled out a pistol, setting it down ever so gently on the desktop. "Start talking."

Liam smoothed down the lapels of his suit jacket. "I want to make a deal."

"We already had a deal. One which you are currently in breach of."

"I have a better offer."

Marcus' brow perked up. "Really? Better than the two of you out of my hair?"

"How about one of us under your control for the foreseeable future, and the other out of your life forever?"

"Sounds complicated."

Liam bit the inside of his cheek as he stepped closer, pointedly ignoring how Marcus rested a hand on the gun. "Maybe, but the results are simple. Me. Yours. Zayn. Gone."  _And happy_.

The smile that slid onto Marcus' face made shivers walk across Liam's spine. He tamped down the need to vomit. Marcus sneered. "Out of love already? Your soft, weak Master not what you expected? I warned you he could never give you what I could."

Liam snarled, "You only wanted to give me away."

"That was your doing! You couldn't keep your filthy hands to yourself!" Marcus shot back and gripped the gun tighter on the desk.

The slave put his hands up in concession. "I didn't come to fight about it. I came to give you what you want."

Marcus licked his lips. "You."

"Me," Liam answered.

___

"What is a sun square?" Niall asked. "And what deal would Liam make with Marcus?"

They were just sitting in the car, the sun glaring down on the tinted windows. Harry was fingering the note, folding one corner over and under. Louis had been silent the whole ride, and moreover, not a word of substance since they arrived in the city.

Zayn.

Zayn couldn't comprehend; he didn't understand. Why would Liam even meet Marcus, much less leave with him? For all Zayn knew, Liam could be dead right now. Then what would he have left?

Harry murmured, "Could it be Sunflower Road on the edge of town?"

"I doubt it. That strip is full of glitzy nail salons and bistros; there's nowhere to meet privately over there," Niall confirmed. "Oh, what about Red Sunroof at the old town square?"

"That place was torn down years ago. Nothing's there now," Zayn hummed distractedly. He was so busy staring down the bright ball of fire in the sky, daring it to mock him. "They took it out so the apartments could see the sunrise over-" Zayn's mouth fell open.

"Zee? What's wrong?" Louis asked, voice serious and low.

Zayn pressed the Start button hard enough to turn the tip of his finger white for a long moment. He ripped out of the parking lot with a crease between his brows.

"Where are you going?" Niall questioned.

The Master didn't slow down, his hard eyes tracking the dashes on the road as they passed in a blur. "To watch the sunset."

Niall slapped a hand on the dashboard as Zayn whipped around a corner. "Buddy, sunset isn't for hours. Why don't we slow down just a little? I've got two slaves in the backseat."

Zayn's foot slightly lifted from the gas pedal without thinking. He spared a glance in the rearview mirror. Harry was wide-eyed and squeezing Zayn's seat in front of him. Louis looked back at Zayn with sadness in his eyes. "I know where he's going," Zayn informed them.

"You do?" Harry asked. "Where?"

"St. Constance Park." It was Louis who answered.

Harry turned to him. "How do you know?" He faced forward again. "Zayn, how does he know that?"

"Apparently, some things don't change," Louis added unhelpfully.

Niall was turned around in his seat and reached out for Louis' hand. "Sunset square," he offered with recognition. "I'd totally forgotten about it."

"Why am I the only one who doesn't know what we're talking about?" Harry demanded.

The blond sent him a smile. "It's Zayn and Louis' place."

"Not anymore it seems." Louis retracted his hand and folded his arms across his chest.

Zayn was still moving down the road, but not as fast as before. "I gave him every piece of me, Louis. Including that."

"What's so special about this park?" asked Harry.

Louis glared at the back of Zayn's head. "Do you want to tell him, or should I?"

Niall could see Zayn physically grit his teeth together. To save him, Niall answered, "That's were Zayn and Louis had their first kiss."

"No, I know where you had...I mean-" Harry deflated when he realized he didn't. "Why haven't we talked about this before?"

The blond sent Zayn a questioning glance, and when he received nothing he answered his slave. "Louis was paired when they met- when they...got together."

Everyone was quiet, staring out windows, until Harry made a choked off sound and blurted out, "I'm not the only one thinking it right? I mean, Zayn's got a type."

"Harry!" Louis scolded, then hid his smile behind a hunched shoulder.

When Louis started laughing, Harry started laughing. When Harry started laughing, Niall couldn't help it. Niall covered his mouth with one hand and his eyes with the other, but when he peeked through his fingers, he saw the upturn of Zayn's terse line and grabbed his friend by the bicep. "It's only funny because it's true."

Zayn rolled his eyes. "It's not a type," he declared indignantly and everyone went quiet. "It's a proclivity." The car erupted and Zayn joined in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zayn and company are catching wise. Maybe next week they'll catch up to Liam and Marcus. We'll see. Until then, let me know what you think, please. 
> 
> Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	5. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and Zayn both go to sun square.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy #LeaveMeFriday. How was everyone's week?
> 
> Super awesome side note: I'd like to introduce my new beta, Maya! She has graciously decided to make this shit readable. Enjoy xo

The park was in full bloom. Dense, bright trees swayed in the soft summer breeze. Children ran around the playground equipment while parents sat on benches around the area to keep an eye out. Liam and Marcus were sat warily a few feet apart on a bench on the other side of the park where people only passed on their way through the jogging trail.

The area was littered with foliage that blocked most of the sun, the thing that made this park Liam and Zayn’s favorite. But he wasn’t here to bask in the sun; he didn’t deserve it. He was here to be done with this and fix what was broken.

“You really are that selfless, do-gooder type, aren't you?” Marcus mocked. “Why is it always so dramatic with you two?”

Liam was floored. “Maybe because you threatened to kill us if we came back? Maybe because you sold me into slavery? Tried to kill the man I love?”

“Come on, it wasn't that bad.”

“Are you having me on?”

Marcus tilted his head, apparently done playing. “I'm just pointing out your proclivity for danger. Even when you have it good, you can't help but find trouble.”

Liam didn’t have an answer for that. Marcus wasn’t wrong. He’d been paired with Marcus and they’d hit it off. Marcus was good to him until he couldn’t keep his hands to himself. That didn’t excuse being sold into slavery, but Liam wondered what he would’ve done had Zayn cheated on him….Oh, right. He’d have done exactly what he was doing right now, selling himself to Marcus to make things right. Maybe he and Marcus weren’t so different after all.

“I know I messed up, but I want what’s best for everybody. I think we can work something out, right?”

“You better make it good, slave.” Marcus crossed an ankle over his knee and tilted his sunglasses down to look over them at Liam. “I can think of a few things I want.”

Liam swallowed down his revulsion and nodded. “I know. I can make that happen.”

Marcus leaned in, voice lowered with wrath. “ _You_ don’t make anything happen. Got it?”

Fear crept across the back of Liam’s neck, but he refused to let Marcus see it. “I got it.” When Marcus leaned back, out of Liam’s space and he could breathe again, Liam folded his hands in his lap and started. “I’m willing to be yours again if you give me something in return. Once that’s done, then Zayn is to be left unharmed and you and I go our separate ways.”

Marcus hummed, his eyes tracing the trajectory of a few birds that took off from a tree branch across the empty running path. “How can I be assured you’ll obey until I give you what you want? I’ve already threatened life and limb and yet here you are.”

“I’ve got some ideas for that.”

Marcus raised a brow. “Like?”

Liam rubbed his sweaty palms together. “Like a shock collar, for instance, with distance restrictions.”

Marcus’s dark chuckle made Liam’s shoulders tense. The Master turned his upper body to lean an arm on the back of the bench and face Liam. “You thought I was barbaric. Liam, that is _something_.”

“Like I said, I mean it this time.”

“Obviously,” Marcus allowed and smirked. “I also want to make clear that when you say you’re mine, that means something.”

“I know.”

“Do you? That means your body is mine, your mind is mine, your life is mine for as long as it takes. I could bring you within an inch of death for the fun of it because you belong to me. Is that the deal you’re willing to make?”

Liam couldn’t let Marcus make him forget why he was doing this. He wanted- needed Zayn to be happy. He wanted this for the man that nearly gave his life for Liam. “Yes.”

“Good,” Marcus confirmed, sounding a little surprised. “Then whatever it is that you want, I’m sure we can work it out. Why don’t we go close the deal?”

Liam felt like crying. Instead, he set his shoulders firmly and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Zayn came to a screeching halt in the parking lot on the west side of the park. There were kids playing, bicyclists, and sunshine in the trees: everything that first he and Louis, then he and Liam had come to love about that place. He ran onto the grass and around the big jungle gym so he could see the expansive space better.

No Liam.

No Marcus.

But he knew he was right. They had to be here.

“Is this the place?” Harry asked as the three others caught up to Zayn.

Louis confirmed with something bitter in his voice, “Yeah, this is it.”

“Where are they?” Niall asked.

Zayn ignored them all, walking forward along the path he and Liam had held hands on while they’d walked the setting sun into the horizon. Liam had told him about his fear of abandonment in that park. Zayn shared his desire for a family in that park. The Master’s feet took him back through the same course they’d come all those nights ago, to the bench they’d shared as shelter from the sudden rain. Zayn sat down on the bench and let his head drop back in defeat. He could have sworn he was right. How could he-

Zayn’s head popped up and he sniffed the air. He turned in his seat and looked at the bench, inhaling deeper. “Liam.” Zayn would know that cologne anywhere. He’d been the one to get it for his slave’s birthday; a handmade scent he’d spent months on.

The dark-haired man stood on shaky legs and pointed frantically at the bench. “He was right there.” He turned and yelled towards the other three, who were all wondering towards him while searching the park for any sign of the slave and Marcus. “He was right there!”

Niall came running over and caught Zayn as he stumbled back a step. “What’s wrong, Zee?”

Zayn grit his teeth, walking back towards the bench and kicking violently at the seat. The wood splintered under the force, cracking and scratching along Zayn ankle through his sock. “He was right there! I can still smell him,” he urged while he motioned frantically at the bench. “That rat Master bastard was right here, and I missed him!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooo, so close. Maybe you'll get him next time, babe. Though, be careful what you wish for.
> 
> Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	6. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus abuses Liam to break him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy #LeaveMeFriday. Here starts some of the TRIGGER WARNINGS! Please don't read this if you aren't in a good place. Take care of you.
> 
> I'll put a small summary of the chapter at the end so you won't miss anything. Enjoy xo

Liam hadn't been sure what to expect when he and Marcus got back in the car and drove away from the park. Liam gave the greenspace one last glance, hoping for some reason that Zayn would be chasing after them. He wasn't dumb enough to think that Zayn hadn't followed and that he hadn't gone to the same places Liam did. He was actually surprised Zayn hadn't caught up with them yet. Maybe Marcus was smarter than he thought.

"Where are we going?" Liam asked as he faced forward again.

A quick, sharp slack cracked through the stillness of the car, making Liam groan and cup his cheek. "You don't ask questions," Marcus informed him. Liam closed his eyes to keep back the way they watered and tightened his throat against the whimper wanting to bubble out.

"Yes, sir," was all he could muster.

The car glided down once familiar streets, but now they all seemed confusing and he was lost in minutes as the sun glared off the windshield. Marcus drove them away from the uptown office buildings and sleek townhouses to downtown's art district. Zayn had always kept him from this part of town; he'd said it wasn't safe, that couples only came down here to do something they couldn't get away with elsewhere. The realization made Liam's stomach churn.

Marcus pulled up to the limited parking in front of an innocuous building. It was red brick that had turned brown with age, a few pieces crumbling under the weight of itself, with a bright blue awning covering a tinted glass front door. No sign, no street address. "Let's go," Marcus ordered, as if he shouldn't have to, like Liam should want to go in there with him.

Liam warily got out of the car and followed his new...Master into the brick shop. The moment they stepped inside the overwhelming scent of sex assaulted the slave, making him reach a hand up to cover his face. The entryway was small and separated from the rest of the place by a thick curtain; it was occupied only by a single attendee in a little black dress and sharp stilettos. It took Liam a double-take to realize it was a thin fawn of a man- no, a boy- that took Marcus' jacket and hung it in the small closet behind him.

Marcus placed an unrelenting hand on the back of Liam's neck, squeezed, and physically led him through the small room and past the curtain while the attendee sent him a pitying glance. On the other side of the curtain was what Liam could only describe as a sex prison. The room was a long rectangle and along both of the long walls were rows of cages, most of them filled with what was obviously someone's slaves. The middle of the room was scattered with sofas and chairs. Tables sat between each section of seating, and on the tables were things Liam knew were meant for him and the others like him in there.

Marcus hadn't let go of his neck yet and was leading him to the middle of the room. He only let go once the area of seating they headed for had parted to let them through and he left Liam standing in the middle of couches that centered around him. Marcus sat gracefully down on one of the couches, arm extended across the length of the back and one ankle over a knee; he was completely in control and he knew it. People gathered around again, getting comfortable on the other couches around him and standing in open spaces to watch.

"Strip down to your underwear," Marcus ordered, earning a soft grumble of disappointment from the crowd. He chuckled. "Patience, people. We're just getting started." Liam leveled him with what was left of his defiance, to which Marcus only tilted his head in expectation. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, baby."

Liam shuddered as he remembered the hard way- chains and a damp underground dungeon. He nodded and began unbuttoning his shirt, earning a disappointed grimace from Marcus. He finished the last button and let the soft cotton slide off his shoulders to the floor. The air of the place was hot, but he shivered at being exposed in front of people.

When the slave hesitated, Marcus pointedly looked at Liam's sharp slacks. Liam closed his eyes against the raging embarrassment and unbuttoned his pants. When he'd unzipped and gotten his pants just past his hips he heard appreciative murmurs from the crowd and froze.

"I can't."

That actually garnered a please hum from the Master. "That's what I thought." Marcus rose from his seat and stood face to face with Liam, looking down the few inches of difference at the slave. "Hard way it is." With that, he stepped back and backhanded Liam so hard that he spun around with the force. When his vision came back from black Liam saw the crowd that had gathered behind him and Marcus. They were practically salivating at the blooming red of Liam's cheek.

Marcus gripped an unforgiving hand on Liam's right shoulder and forced him to his knees. The urge to cry was so ultimate that Liam couldn't even comprehend how to do it. Instead, he just stuttered for something to say while Marcus smoothed his hand from Liam's shoulder into his hair, gripping and tugging just enough to tilt Liam's face up.

The crowd seemed amped with energy and they were all shoving in on one other to get closer. Liam wanted to retreat from the enclosing, but the other option was retreating into Marcus so he stood his ground and readied himself. Marcus pressed up against Liam's shoulder, surely just so that he could feel the growing pressure against the Master's zipper. "Everyone, this is Liam. He needs to be broken in." The crowd swelled with anticipation. "Easy now, everyone will get a chance," Marcus assured, but the crowd didn't calm, instead the feral energy rose another notch. "Who's first?"

When the first person, a broad man with sandy blond hair that hung down over a scar across the man's cheek, approached, Liam knew what it meant. He bit back a convulsion and refused to show how afraid he was. "I am," the man answered and licked his lips.

One after the other, each of the patrons used Liam's mouth. A tall, well-dressed man just unzipped his pants and pressed at Liam's lips. When he refused to open, the man pinched his nose shut and waited, satisfaction already painted across his face. He held out until the edges of his vision started to go fuzzy before gasping a gulp of air. The inhale was cut off by the girth of the man pressing against the back of his throat, making Liam's throat constrict and he coughed around the width.

A woman raked her hands through Liam's hair, joining them with Marcus's that were still holding him the entire time. She pulled her skirt up her thighs and straddled Liam's shoulders. He'd been on his knees long enough for his legs to go numb and his eyes were a teary mess from being choked and forced to suck so he took the woman as the reprieve it was and stuck his tongue out in surrender.

Instead of pressing down onto his face as he expected, the woman looked down at him with a wickedness he hadn't seen matched in any of the others yet. She held him firm as she dropped a wad of spit into his open mouth; he didn't even have the coordination to close his mouth before he felt it on his tongue. He flinched at the invasion, but before he could swallow to get rid of it, she stuck two fingers into his mouth, deep enough to make him gag, and scraped across the roof of his mouth hard enough to make him whine before pulling them out. She leaned down to his ear and whispered, dark and icy, "I like a bit of teeth, slave."

Countless satisfied monsters later, when the crowd seemed satiated and the last of the Masters wandered off on shaky legs, Marcus finally let go of his hair and Liam collapsed to the floor. His throat was raw and the taste of semen and women's juices were imprinted onto his taste buds. Marcus hadn't let any of the patrons come anywhere but down his throat.

"My turn," Marcus announced. Liam finally released the sob he'd been holding in for what could've been hours. Marcus only mocked him with a pitying sound. "Come now, if you're going to cry at least sit up so I can see it."

Liam buried his face deeper in the dirty carpet and pressed a palm to his mouth to stifle the sound of another full body sob. He felt pressure on his back, between his shoulder blades before the weight of a foot pressed down and Liam cried out in pain. "Sit up, slave!" Marcus ordered. Liam gathered himself and pressed against the foot to sit up but the pressure didn't cease. "Is that all you have, Liam? Work for it."

He didn't want to work for it. He wanted to curl up and pass out and then he wouldn't care what Marcus did to him because he wouldn't be conscious to remember it. The heel of Marcus's shoes ground into Liam's spine, bringing him sharply back into focus. Liam got his hands under him and pushed up, only getting somewhere because Marcus let up a little. With a happy hum, Marcus finally let Liam sit up.

The Master grabbed Liam by the chin and twisted his neck harshly so the slave was looking up at him through foggy eyes. "Do you understand why you're here?" Liam swallowed thickly before shaking his head as best he could in the tight grip. "You're here," Marcus answered, "because I was too kind to you last time. If you are to truly belong to me, you have to be broken beyond repair." That earned a couple of murmurs of agreement from the onlookers. "Understand?"

Liam did actually. He could already feel his spirit folding in, his pride withering into crumbles. "Yes," he whispered.

"Yes, sir," Marcus instructed.

_For Zayn. For Zayn. For Zayn._ "Yes, sir."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marcus fucking SUCKS! God, I hate that guy. 
> 
> Okay so, if you skipped it, good for you for making the decision you need to. Basically, Marcus takes Liam to a seedy sex club where Masters can take their slaves for non-consensual stuff. He makes Liam give oral to a bunch of Masters and starts to break down Liam's spirit. 
> 
> Phew. I did warn you at the beginning, right? It doesn't really get happier so...but you didn't come here for no drama, did you? Anyway, let me know how you're feeling.
> 
> Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	7. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the mild panic attack, Zayn and company make headway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guuuuuys! Firstly, happy #LeaveMeFriday. Secondly, this whole story is starting to get sad and angry and all the things you are when you read it and go, "Why the fuck are they acting that way??" I'll tell ya, it's only getting worse. Did I tag this book with #angst yet? Enjoy xo
> 
> ALSO! Thanks so much for sticking around. Whether you read the first book years ago and patiently (not so patiently) kept poking at me until I wrote this final installment or you're brand new and realizing you've gotten in way over your head (this is the Madhouse after all), THANK YOU for reading! It means the world to me.

Niall assessed the freaked out looks on the faces of the park occupants and nodded flimsy assurances at them. "Harry, Louis, go to the car," he ordered and Louis nodded his understanding, but Harry immediately barked, "No way. I can help."

Niall didn't look back at him, only said, "Louis," and knew they'd make it to the car.

Louis put hands on Harry's shoulders and soothed him with, "You don't want to be around when he's like this."

"I've never seen him like this," Harry admitted and leaned into Louis's touch.

"He's changed a lot since I left him. Liam means a lot to him, apparently." He tugged on Harry's shoulder more firmly. "We have to go to the car."

"We should be over there-"

Louis turned him forcefully to face him and looked up into Harry's concerned green eyes. "There's nothing we can do over there. If you want to help, then do what Niall said and go to the car with me."

Harry relented, letting Louis lead him back across the park with a hand on the small of his back. "We're never going to be the same, are we?"

Louis sighed, his head too heavy to hold up as he walked. "No, I don't think so."

 

 

Niall approached his best friend carefully, making sure to speak slowly as not to spook him. "Hey, Z. Talk to me."

Zayn was pacing, red in the face and panting hard. "He's fucking gone! That son of a bitch took him from me  _again_  and I don't even know why Liam's doing this!"

"I know it sucks, but we're not done yet," Niall reassured.

The dark-haired Master spun around, fast enough to make Niall flinch back. "We were happy," Zayn murmured, sounding stunned. "We were finally happy." The smile that spread across his face was sad and didn't reach his teary eyes.

"I know."

"I was thinking on the way up here." Zayn melted to the ground suddenly, a heap of broken man. "I gave him everything." He shrugged helplessly. "I paired him. I gave him a home, a place to belong." He swallowed hard around a lump in his throat. "There's only one thing I can't give him."

Niall was walking closer with cautious steps, and when Zayn didn't lash out again, he sat in front of his friend and asked, "What's that?"

Zayn just closed his eyes and shook his head. When he looked back up at Niall, tears were falling down his cheeks. "A family."

 

 

Harry was technically in the back seat, but most of his body was in the front of the car as he leaned between the two front seats to watch as Niall sat down in front of Zayn. "He seems calmer," he remarked. Louis only hummed from where he was sitting back in his seat and looking out the window at the city he'd once known. Harry huffed at his lack of response and rambled back into his seat to assess him. "What's wrong?"

Louis tilted his lips up in a wry smirk, no joy in it. "You mean besides being the reason we're here, Liam's gone, and Zayn is losing his mind?"

Harry scooted closer and wrapped a large hand around Louis's inner thigh, letting the warmth of it seep into his skin. "This isn't your fault."

The blue-eyed slave finally turned away from the window and leveled Harry with hard eyes. "I'm not saying that to be pious or whatever. We all know why Liam left."

Harry shook his head in disagreement. "Zayn already proved to Liam that he's the one. No offense, but you're ours and everyone knows it."

Louis scoffed a laugh at that. "So, it just so happened that Liam booked his first ticket out of town right after I showed up despite snagging a Master that would literally die for him?"

Harry shuffled just that little bit closer and rested his forehead against Louis's temple. "You didn't do this. Whatever reason Liam has for being here, for doing this, it's really good. He wouldn't hurt Zayn like this unless he felt like he had to."

Louis leaned into Harry, soaking up his confidence and comfort. "I don't really care what the reason is. We're taking him home."

"Agreed," Harry whispered against Louis's cheek before kissing him sweetly.

The air in the car shifted as the front passenger door opened. Niall climbed in, only slightly shell-shocked, and turned around to take in his slaves. "You okay?" They both nodded.

Zayn was making his was more sluggishly across the park towards the car. His hands were still shaking, but he'd stopped crying at least. He'd just stepped off the grass and onto the sidewalk by the car when a hand slapped against his chest, stopping him. Zayn looked down first, at the hand, and saw it holding a piece of paper against him. Then, he looked up at a well-dressed woman with big blue eyes.

"Take it," she demanded calmly.

He did, looking down to pull the piece of paper into his hand. He focused on the weight of it in his palm, unfolding it and trying to hold it steady.

_He's here._

_2304 S. Cordial_

_Come have a look._

Zayn just stared dumbly at the piece of paper for what could've been forever, before gripping it in his fist, the paper making a satisfying crunch under the pressure. When he looked up the woman was already twenty paces down the sidewalk and nearly out of sight. He stomped to the car in a second and ripped open the door.

"What was that?" Niall asked.

Zayn just tossed the paper at him and started the car wordlessly. Niall read it over, then seemed to read it over a few more times.

"We don't know what this means, Zayn." The passengers all tilted suddenly as Zayn ripped out of the parking spot and took off towards downtown. "This could be a trick! Zayn, you're not thinking clearly."

"It doesn't matter. If he's there, so am I."

Harry reached into Niall's lap and took the piece of paper, showing Louis as they both read it. "What did the lady say?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," Zayn clipped.

"Then how do you even know if this is for real?"

Zayn pressed the gas harder to speed through a light. Niall sent a concerned glance towards the back seat and Louis whispered for Harry to put his seat belt on. "I don't care. This has Marcus written all over it. Either Liam is there or he is- either way, I'm there, too."

Niall reached over to put a calming hand on Zayn's arm, but the other Master shrugged it away. "Then we're there, too," he offered, to which Zayn only nodded, not taking his eyes off the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note: Can I just say I love Louis and Harry's relationship. :)
> 
> I'll see you next week. Leave some kudos or comments if you feel like. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	8. VIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zayn finally meets up with Marcus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week has another warning for rape/non-con but it's only a few paragraphs instead of the entire chapter. I'll recap it below but if you need to skip it just don't read the italics. Happy #LeaveMeFriday everybody. Enjoy xo
> 
> Another shout out to my awesome beta, Maya! Some of her comments for this chapter had me rolling.

“What is this place?” Niall asked, disgust clear in his tone, as the four of them stood in front of the shabby brick storefront.

Zayn crumpled up the piece of paper and shoved it in his pocket. “Not somewhere Liam should be,” he informed them and took a step towards the door, but Niall grabbed his arm and tugged him to stop.

“What do you know about this place, Zayn?”

The torn Master shook off Niall’s hold and stared pointedly at the tinted glass door. “I frequented these sorts of places before...everything. Before you and Louis and Harry and then Liam.”

“What is this place?” Harry questioned, sweet as ever but he couldn’t hide his apprehension.

“Niall, I think your boys should stay in the car.”

“No way,” Louis interjected. Zayn turned to face him and found him with his arms crossed in front of him defiantly. “If Liam is in there, I’m going.”

Zayn was still looking into Louis’ hard blue eyes, but he addressed his fellow Master. “Niall, take your slaves to the car.”

Niall scoffed. “Excuse you. I’ll do what I please with  _my_  slaves. If Louis is adamant about going in, then he has every right to.”

Zayn was already shaking his head dejectedly. “I’m not being cruel. I’m trying to spare you all.”

“Hey,” Niall reached out for Zayn again, but this time his touch was soft and friendly, “whatever is in there, you don’t need to be facing it alone.”

“I am alone; can’t you see that?” The statement deafened the rebuttals on every tongue in the group. They were all aware of the darkness of the situation, but to hear it spoken so plainly made spines straighten and breaths hitch. Zayn shook his head, waving away his words and turning towards the door. “I would like the backup if you’re willing,” he admitted to the glass.

“Then you have it,” Niall assured.

The group crossed the threshold and entered the dark, quiet front room. An attendant in a shapely, black dress was waiting in front of a dividing curtain. When he saw them, he just pulled the curtain aside and stood, face stoic, as they went through. On the other side, a long thin room with cages along the walls was empty all the way through until Zayn spotted a small line of people along the back wall.

He walked closer, the others behind him, and knew instantly who was down there. Marcus was standing behind a line of large men in all back, security of some sort, smiling like the cat that got the canary. Zayn had to force himself not to run down the room and tackle the line of men to get to the Master that had ruined his life.

“Zayn,” Marcus greeted amiably, arms held out wide to greet him. “I’m so glad you made it.”

Zayn looked around the area but couldn’t spot Liam. He wasn’t sure if maybe he was being hidden or wasn’t even actually there. “Where is he?” Zayn demanded.

“Nuh uh, not yet, Mr. Malik. First I’d like to show you something.”

“I don’t care about your stupid game!” Zayn screamed as he approached the line. “I want my slave back!”

Marcus tisked, playing at apologetic and failing. “See that’s the thing; he’s not yours anymore.” The TV hanging on the wall above Marcus’s head came to life and Zayn physically jolted at the picture of Liam on his knees in front of Marcus and surrounded by people.

“What is-”

“Watch,” Marcus ordered.

In the video, Marcus’s hand raked through Liam’s hair and the slave closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. Zayn could tell he was trying to keep from crying.

_“Tell me- tell all of us- what you want,”_ Marcus teased from the screen.

_Liam tried to speak, but it was like his brain wouldn’t push the words out. He wanted to get this over with, just do what he was told, but it hurt to be there like this. Marcus gripped his hair tighter then and Liam inhaled sharply. “I want,” he finally managed, “to give Zayn what he wants.”_

_The other Masters in the room gave a collective murmur at his answer. Marcus raised a knowing brow. “And what is it that Zayn wants?”_

_Liam felt the onslaught of fresh tears finally pooling in his eyes, but he was too tired to stop them. “A family.”_

He knew it. Zayn was sure that was it. Somewhere in their honeymoon phase, the idea that Zayn couldn’t adopt or provide for surrogacy because of this past had rooted in Liam’s mind and made him distant. Zayn had tried to ignore it. Liam had never so much as mentioned a true desire for kids, so Zayn convinced himself Liam didn’t want it. He should’ve known.

_Marcus hummed, his other hand coming up to trace along Liam’s full lips. “What are you willing to do to give_ that man _what he wants?”_

_Liam’s words came fast and sure but fumbled. “Anything. I would do anything.”_

_“Including give yourself to me for as long as I need?” Marcus clarified._

_The slave swallowed but nodded, hair tugging in Marcus’ grip. “Anything.”_

_“Prove it,” Marcus taunted, tongue coming out to wet his lips. He let go of Liam to undo his pants and pull out his thickened erection. Liam cringed away but didn’t put up a fight when Marcus pushed past his lips._

“Turn it off!” Zayn roared, making even the security men flinched. Marcus picked a remote up off a table by the wall and clicked the screen blank. “What have you done?” Zayn gasped, voice wet with unshed tears.

“Exactly what Liam wanted,” Marcus answered. “I’ve given you what you want and taken my payment as agreed.”

“What I  _want_  is Liam! Nothing else.”

Marcus pushed the shoulder of the two men directly in front of him and they parted to let him through. He was still in the same clothes and his shirt was only half tucked in. Zayn refused to acknowledge the stain on his waistband. “Unfortunately, Mr. Malik, that was the deal. Take what you’ve been given and I will take what’s mine.”

Zayn launched forward at that, but the two closest men stepped between him and Marcus, grabbing him by the arms and dragging him back. Marcus looked on, laughing haughtily as Zayn’s back hit the floor. “Give it up, Zayn. I’ve won.”

Zayn kept fighting the men while Niall tried to pull them off. “He’s down. Leave him!” When Zayn didn’t stop kicking, Niall directed his eyes to look at him. “Zayn, stop fighting.” The dark-haired Master went boneless then, face crumbling into a mask of surrender.

“I can’t lose him again,” Zayn gasped.

Niall pushed a man back and said, “I’ve got him.” They released Zayn and Niall pulled him to his feet, taking most of his weight when Zayn didn’t look like he could stand. “This isn't over, Marcus."

Marcus just smiled wider. “Oh, I’m counting on it.”

“Fuck you!” Harry piped up from behind them, and scooped Zayn up under an arm, helping Niall lead him out. They passed Louis, who looked like he was barely keeping himself upright as it was.

They were just about to the curtain, Louis behind them, when they heard Marcus call out. “Good to see you, Loubear.”

Zayn’s head snapped around. Louis was standing stock still, eyes shut against the words and holding his breath. “Choke and die, fuckhead,” Louis spat without turning around and pushed past Niall to be the first one out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm dead. I'm so hurt and lost. Anyone else? Just me?
> 
> More next week! Mwah! Xoxo, Jess
> 
> If you skipped, good for you. Basically, Marcus plays a tape of when Liam was in there earlier and he gets Liam to say that he belongs to Marcus and then Marcus forces a blowjob.


	9. IX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group is struggling. Louis has secrets. Liam is left to Marcus's devices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy #LeaveMeFriday! Lots of *WARNINGS* this week kiddos. There is a non-con warning and even a bit of a violence warning that starts after the first ***. The group is having a rough week let me tell you. Enjoy? xo

“Do you want to explain what that was?” Zayn shouted as he shook off Niall and Harry’s help when Louis kept walking towards the car. “How did he know who you were?”

Louis pulled the back door of the car open but didn’t get in. “He knows who we all are,” he spat.

Zayn rushed up to the small slave and pulled him around to face him. “Don’t give me that, Louis. He  _knew_  you. He said ‘see you again’, as in he had before.”

Louis ripped his arm from Zayn’s hold and pushed the Master back with two forceful hands to his chest. “Fuck off, Zayn. You don’t have any right to ask the truth from me.”

“No, but I do,” Niall added, already dreading what he would hear, and approached the duo. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Louis’s eyes went sad, somehow sloping down with the weight of the situation. He shook his head, reluctant but sure. “Please, Niall. If you love me...don’t.”

Niall held his slave’s gaze, looking for the truth in his silence. Whatever he saw seemed to be enough, because he said, “You  _will_  tell me, but not right now.”

“Thank you,” he breathed, gratefulness filling his voice.

“What?” Zayn shrieked. “I come here to find Liam only to see him being  _used_  by the man that has sought to destroy my life and Louis knows something!” Zayn grabbed Louis by the shirt collar and pulled him in, up on his toes. “You’re going to tell me what you know.”

Niall was pushing between them in an instant, pushing Zayn back. “Back off, Zee!” He pointed a finger right in Zayn’s face. “You don’t ever get to touch my slave like that again.”

Zayn slapped his hand away but only stood and stared over Niall’s shoulder to where Louis was wide-eyed and frozen. After a few long, tense moments Zayn scoffed. “Fine.” He walked around Niall and towards the car again, stopping to turn hard eyes on Louis. “You’re walking.”

“Zayn!” Harry chided, startled. “You can’t be serious.”

The dark-haired man didn’t say anything else as he went around the car and got into the driver’s seat. He started the engine and rolled down the passenger window. “If anyone else wants a ride to a place to sleep tonight, you better get in.”

Harry looked from Zayn to Niall, asking what to do. Niall walked calmly up to Louis and pulled him out of the way so he could shut the back door. “Harry, go with Zayn. Louis and I will meet you there.”

“Niall, this is bullocks.” Harry leaned into the window. “Zayn, tell them you’re joking.”

Zayn didn’t look at him, eyes forward and face hard. “Harry, get in.”

Harry looked back at Niall, refusing to accept it. When Niall only nodded, Harry huffed and got in the passenger seat of the car. Zayn rolled up the window and backed out of the parking spot before Harry could even seat belt. They were out of sight and Niall was still seething.

“You shouldn’t trust Harry with him while he’s like that,” Louis commented, pulling out his phone to check the time.

Niall straightened Louis’s crinkled shirt as he answered, “One, he’d never hurt Harry. That I know. Two, don’t question my decisions when it comes to the safety of my slaves.” With one more dust off of Louis’s shoulder, Niall took his hand and they headed towards the direction Zayn’s car had gone.

***

Liam was left chained to the headboard in the master bedroom wearing nothing but his boxers. Marcus had locked his hands in basic metal handcuffs looped through a bar in the headboard before stripping Liam of his leftover clothes. He trickled a hand up Liam’s sweat-slick chest, resting his large palm around Liam’s neck. Liam had tensed, unsure if the gesture was meant as intimacy or a threat. Without saying anything, Marcus had left and that was long enough ago that Liam started to wonder if he’d be left alone and tied up for the rest of the night.

Just when Liam was finally dozing off, the door to the bedroom creaked open flooding the now dark room with light from the hall. Marcus pushed inside, tie gone and the top two buttons on his shirt undone. His hair was mussed and in his hand was a glass of something brown. Fear raced through Liam’s body, pumping in his veins like heroin. Marcus was drunk and looking at Liam with a predatory smile. The slave pulled himself up as much as he could with his hands bound above him, which amounted mostly to just curling up his spine and cowering under his forearms.

“Look at my little slave,” Marcus slurred. “Everyone wants him, but he’s mine.” Liam didn’t dare say anything, to bring more attention to himself. A few unsteady steps and Marcus was standing at the end of the bed, taking in Liam’s scrunched up form with unimpressed features. “Come on, Liam, let me see you.”

Liam didn’t obey, more because he felt frozen like prey caught in a trap than to be a nuisance. The reasoning didn’t matter, it still pissed Marcus off. The Master moved around the bed, liquid sloshing in his glass, and gripped Liam’s ankle harshly before tugging his leg out straight. Liam was jolted down the bed with the force of the pull and both legs flew out straight, effectively laying out for Marcus like he’d asked.

“There now, isn’t that better?” Marcus looked at Liam like he actually wanted an answer, so Liam nodded. The dominant man reached down and undid his belt clumsily followed by the button and zip of his pants. Liam wanted to close his eyes, go somewhere in his head, but he was afraid that if he took his eyes off Marcus, the man would move without him knowing it.

Instead, Liam kept his eyes resolutely on Marcus’s free hand as he used it to hold himself steady while he climbed on the bed. Marcus swung a leg over Liam’s hips, spilling a little of the alcohol he held before settling himself on top of the slave. He took a glug of the drink and then offered some to Liam. He shook his head politely, but apparently, it wasn’t a request.

Marcus pushed the glass to Liam’s lips and tilted it. Liam would’ve been drowned in the strong spirit had he not opened his mouth and let the liquid fall down his throat. Whiskey. A drunk man’s drink. When Liam started to cough Marcus pulled back and set the glass on the nightstand.

“You know, I have been waiting for this moment for months,” Marcus murmured as his hands started to explore Liam’s chest and stomach. Liam repressed the shiver that ran over him and tilted his eyes up to the ceiling. “I knew you wouldn’t last. You’re a troublemaker, Liam.”

Marcus’s hand trailed up Liam’s neck and Liam’s jaw tensed in anticipation of what he knew would come. The Master leaned down and pressed dry, stinking lips against his in a sloppy, drunk attempt at a kiss. Liam held perfectly still. Marcus hummed, somehow enjoying himself. One hand took hold of Liam’s hip while the one on his neck smoothed up the underside of him arm to his wrist, knocking against the bracelet Zayn had given him.

Perturbed, Marcus broke the kiss and looked up at the jewelry. “What’s that?”

“Nothing,” Liam answered too quickly. Marcus narrowed his eyes at the bracelet and moved off Liam to kneel up at the head of the bed and look at the piece.

“Why’s it screwed in? That’s like that cheesy arse couple jewelry that people get when they’re too scared to pair.” Liam squeezed his eyes shut against the words and what he knew was coming next. “This is from  _him_ , isn’t it?” Marcus accused, yelling too loudly for the silence of the room.

“Marcus please, just let it go.”

Marcus was already up off the bed. “Fuck that. I’m not having my slave wear another Master’s jewelry.” The drunken Master teetered out of the room noisily, leaving Liam to wait and be afraid. Liam had no idea what he was going to do.

The slave was left in silent frozen fear for long minutes. The room felt overwhelming huge, like the door was on the other side of an impossible ocean. The hallway was quiet on the other side of the still open door. Finally, Liam heard heavy footsteps and a thump on the wall as Marcus came back to the room.

He stood in the doorway, backlit like a villain in a horror film with a large pair of bolt cutters in his hand. Liam immediately caved in on himself in a sham of protection. "Marcus, please don't."

"Shut up," Marcus growled, less slurred but still hazy in his state. He stomped towards the bed with uneven steps and nearly fell onto it before catching himself with a hand on Liam's chest. The touch felt searing with how unwanted it was. The Master got back in his earlier position, straddling Liam's chest then and leaning down to snatch a territorial kiss. "Mine now," he grunted, caveman-like in his taking.

He leaned up towards Liam's wrist, and the slave couldn't keep still anymore. He shifted away from Marcus, begging him to leave it be. Marcus raised a hand and slapped him across the face. "Stop that! You're mine now, you ungrateful slut." Liam felt heat rise in the shape of a palm on his cheek.

Marcus aimed the bolt cutters at Liam's wrist, and Liam flinched without thinking in one last attempt to save the trinket. Liam's movement made Marcus slip and slice open the tender underside of Liam's wrist. The slave hissed in pain and shrunk away from the tool but Marcus grabbed his arm, blood trickling down to meet his fingers and barked, "Be still or I'll remove a finger along with it."

That subdued Liam long enough for Marcus to haphazardly place the metal bracelet between the two blades and push the two handles together. The bracelet made a short sound of protest before it snapped under the pressure and fell from Liam's wrist. Liam watched it drop onto the bed with a quiet shocked inhale.

"There," Marcus noted, satisfied. He looked at both of Liam's hands. "Where's your pairing ring?" 

It took just a moment for Liam to remember where it actually was. At least it was safe from Marcus. "I got rid of it," he lied.

Marcus smirked. "That's my boy." He threw the bolt cutters off the bed and laid down on top of Liam. "Where were we?"

Liam had to press his head back into the pillow and squeeze his eyes shut to keep from screaming and crying and thrashing under the other man. Marcus was kissing down his neck, across his sternum and over each nipple. When the Master took one nipple into his mouth, Liam broke and a sob racked his chest. Marcus either didn't notice or didn't care- probably the latter. Then Marcus paused and Liam waited with bated breath.

Nothing. Marcus had gone heavy and still.

Liam looked down to see Marcus with his cheek pressed to Liam's chest, sound asleep. The stuttering breath of relief escaped from Liam in a gasp. Blood trickled down his arm and dripped onto the white sheets but it meant little in comparison to the weight crushing his chest, physically and emotionally. He laid stone-still and begged Marcus not to wake up ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, if you skipped the chapter for trigger reasons then welcome and good on you! Basically, Liam was handcuffed to a bed in Marcus's house and Marcus was drunk and kissed him and touched his chest and such and got distracted by the bracelet Zayn gave Liam way back, you know the one, and got so angry that he went and found bolt cutters and chopped it off, but not before accidentally slicing open Liam's wrist. Either way, Marcus fell asleep before he could do anything truly terrible to Liam, which left our lovely slave chained up and bleeding up an unconscious psychopath.
> 
> See you next week, guys! Hahaha. But really. How are you feeling after this chapter? Everyone okay? Let me know. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	10. X

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis finally reveals his secret connection with Marcus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little backstory, a little angst, a lot of Louis. Win-win-win. Happy #LeaveMeFriday babes. Enjoy xo

Niall and Louis had been walking for about fifteen minutes when Niall got a text from Harry.  _We checked in at the Hilton. Room 713. I asked the front desk guy to save you guys a key. I love you._

“They’re at the Hilton. Harry reserved a key at the front,” Niall informed his slave.

Louis turned and put a hand to Niall’s chest, making them both stop on the sidewalk in a dim area between street lamps. “Why are we walking?”

Niall cocked his head. “Because Zayn has the only car and he kicked us out of it.”

“No,” Louis countered, “I mean, why are we  _here_? Why did we even come?”

The blond laced his fingers with Louis’ on his chest. “Because Zayn is my best friend, and because we’re partly responsible for what’s happening right now.”

“Are we?” Louis wondered as he pulled Niall closer by his shirt. His eyes bored holes into Niall’s, so much pain. “We didn’t do anything to Liam. I like the guy, really, but…” He huffed and stepped back, dropping Niall’s hand. “Why are we being blamed because Zayn’s slave left him?”

“Louis,” Niall hissed.

“What? I’m serious. I didn’t sleep with Zayn; I didn’t ask him to choose me; I don’t  _want_ him.” His voice was rising as his hands flailed wildly, trying to explain. “Liam is insecure and obviously a little messed up, but how is that my fault?!” When Louis was left just staring at Niall, waiting for a response that didn’t come, he spat, “Say something!”

Niall just lowered his head and sighed. “You don’t know, Lou. You can’t possibly understand what they’ve been through.”

“I  _know_ ,” groaned Louis, frustrated. “Zayn didn’t have the balls to tell him he wanted him, so Liam was paired with that maggot of a man. Liam was fucked up by Marcus, but guess what? He’s not the first and he won’t be the last. Marcus DeWare is a stain on humanity, and Liam can just get in line because he’s not the only one to be used and abused by that fucking prick!” Louis deflated and his shoulders sank as he covered his flushed face with a hand. 

Niall’s mouth hung open dumbly, but he reached for Louis anyway. “I didn’t know,” he admitted.

The slave pretended at pushing Niall away, but when the Master pulled him in, Louis collapsed against his chest and cried. “No one did,” Louis told him. “It’s not something I broadcast.” He sniffled and wiped his nose on Niall’s shoulder.

Niall petted his head. “I’m afraid to ask, but I need to know what he did to you.”

“No, you don’t,” Louis disagreed. “I wish I didn’t know.”

“Zayn thinks you know something.”

Louis pulled back and wiped at his eyes, straightening his shoulders and fixing his hair. “Yeah, well, I don’t.”

“Why did Marcus act like he knew you?” asked Niall. The slave shook his head, pushing Niall’s question away. The blond warred with himself. He didn’t want to know, but he  _needed_  to know. He set his shoulders. “Tell me, Louis.”

Louis took it for what it was- an order from his Master. He sighed, long-suffering and started. “It was so long ago,” Louis muttered, voice wet and small. He backed up against the nearest building and slumped to the dirty ground. “I was so young.”

“I know,” Niall encouraged, even though he didn’t, and came to sit in front of Louis on the ground. He placed a gentle hand on Louis’s bent knee and rubbed soothing circles with his thumb. “You can tell me anything.”

Louis was already shaking his head. “Not this,” he contended, a sob catching in his chest.

“Anything, Lou,” Niall corrected.

Louis shook his head harder, but Niall could tell his resolve was crumbling. The slave roughly grabbed a handful of his own hair, in punishment maybe, before gasping out, “I belonged to Marcus when I met Zayn.”

_What?_ “What?”

The brunet nodded but kept his eyes on his knees. “I met Zayn because of Marcus.”

“I- I mean, we knew you were paired, but I never knew…”

“Because I never told him. Or you.” Louis finally lifted his eyes and fixed them on his Master. “Marcus sent me to him.”

“Lou...what the fuck?” Niall urged, hand still and gripping Louis’s knee tightly.

Louis bit at his lip and wrung his hands, but kept going. “He wanted me to spy or something. He wanted to take down Zayn’s business- your business- when it was just starting to get really popular. He told me to get close to him, to get info on him, and use it to take him down.” Louis wiped his shaking hands down his face. “Fuck!” Louis breathed and inhaled sharply. “I was a goddamn pawn! I was a toy that Marcus sent out to seduce another man and then fuck him into telling me how to ruin him.”

Niall retracted his hand, couldn’t handle the intensity of the touch in that moment. “Then why didn’t our business tank?”

The slave pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I couldn’t.” He breathed out shakily and pounded a fist into his thigh. “He was so good to me- not like Marcus. Zayn was kind and sweet and attentive; he wasn’t like any Master I’d ever met.”

“You fell in love with him,” Niall finished.

Louis’s shook his head determinately and urged, “No. I thought I could. He was everything a slave could want, but…” He tapped his temple with a finger. “I had it in the back of my mind that I was betraying him.” Louis sniffled, a small smile creeping onto his face. “Then, he took me to you and Harry that night.” Niall’s brows rose and he fished for something to say but got nothing. Louis spoke over him anyway. “The way you were with each other, the way you were with me- I knew I was fucked.”

Niall scrubbed a hand against his cheek. “But Marcus…”

Louis nodded. “I knew that if he found out, he’d kill me, and all of us probably. I thought I could keep us a secret, but Harry’s just so fucking  _tempting_ ,” he lamented and let his head knock back against the wall. “They got those pictures of us and I knew I had to leave.”

“You didn’t,” Niall argued.

“I did,” Louis confirmed and wiped away his tears again. “I hoped that if I left, Marcus would drop it.” He laughed, bitter and tired. “I should’ve known better. I guess he’s had it out for Zayn ever since.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, tell Zayn?” Niall questioned, taking Louis’s hand. “We could have helped you.”

“I didn’t know Masters like you existed. I’d only known shits like Marcus my whole life. I didn’t trust anyone. I just booked it out of town and stopped when I couldn’t see because I couldn’t stop crying. I got a job and pretended to forget about you and Harry.”

Niall made a gruff sound in his throat of displeasure and moved to sit next to Louis, pulling him in with an arm around his shoulders. “We never forgot about you,” he assured.

“Yeah,” Louis agreed. “It didn’t work for me either.”

“I hate him,” Niall added and they both knew who he meant.

It made Louis scoff a laugh. “Me, too.”

“We’re going to take him down,” Niall declared and Louis just laughed again, burying his face in Niall’s shoulder. Niall’s pocket buzzed, interrupting their moment. He pulled it out and swiped to answer Harry’s smiling face. “Hey, Haz. You guys okay?”

_“Where are you? Zayn let me take his car to come and get you.”_

It was so like Zayn to let his anger deflate as fast as it blew up. He told Harry where they were huddled together on the cement and stayed on the phone with him while he brushed Louis’s hair back and held him tight. Now, they just had to figure out how to tell Zayn...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, why does Marcus fuck up LITERALLY EVERYTHING?? Since everything is so tense rn, I do believe I have a bit of a reprieve coming up soon. How are y'all this week? How'd you like the chapter? Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	11. XI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus holds up his end of the bargain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, because it's fucking Marcus, there is a *TRIGGER WARNING* in effect. Not as violent as last time, but rape is rape kids. If you need to skip, PLEASE do and I'll recap at the end. In the very least, at least Liam gets a tiny bit of hope this week. Happy #LeaveMeFriday. Enjoy, xo

Liam’s wrists were sore and red. He kept rubbing them, trying to get rid of the stinging from being left tied up overnight with no aftercare. He was sat on the floor by Marcus’s feet while the Master was sat as his desk and jabbering on the phone. Marcus hung up and leaned back in his chair to look down at Liam.

“Stop fussing. You’re fine.”

The slave slid his hands under his thighs to stop fidgeting and pointedly didn’t look up at Marcus. “Can we talk about our deal now?” His head was wrenched back so fast it made him gasp. Marcus leaned down and pushed his face into Liam’s space.

“Do I need to teach you how to talk to your Master?” he gritted.

Liam shook his head just a little, but it was still enough to yank at his short hair and make him wince. “No, sir.” He set his jaw, forcing back all of the things he wanted to say. “May we please talk about our deal, sir?”

Marcus hummed but instead of letting go of Liam’s hair, he used the grip to shove his face down into the rug. “Stay.” Liam did, and the Master let him go. “I will make a few calls, but don’t misunderstand, slave, you are mine until the deal is completed.”

“Of course...sir.” Liam slid his hands between the rug and his face, blocking out the light, blocking out the sound of Marcus’ voice on the phone, blocking out everything besides the fact that he was one step closer to his goal.

He was down on his knees long enough that the rug fibers left harsh imprints on his skin when Marcus yanked him to sit up. “If I’m working on this for you, shouldn’t you be working on something for me?”

It was a rhetorical question, but Liam nodded anyway. He had no idea what Marcus meant; it didn’t matter if he kept talking to important people and getting his way. Marcus slid his chair back just enough to pull Liam between his legs. What would happen next washed over Liam, but he was almost numb to it by now. He’d already agreed to do what it took to give Zayn the life he deserved.

Marcus undid his smooth slacks and palmed himself through his underwear. “Under the desk,” he ordered, and Liam scooted back enough that he had to curl his back uncomfortably to fit underneath the thick wood. The Master moved his chair forward and then his half-hard bulge was pressing against Liam’s nose. “I have a meeting in a minute. You don’t make a sound, and you don’t stop until I pull you off.”

Liam couldn’t speak his agreement so he slid his cheek against the curve of Marcus's flaccid bulge, closing his eyes to block out the sight of it at least and nodding. Marcus hummed, pleased with the friction as much as the obedience. He knew it would be up to him to get things started, and if he didn’t, he didn’t want to know what Marcus would do. Marcus couldn't have been bothered to undo his slacks fully, so Liam pulled on the zipper, then tucked his fingers under the waistband of his underwear and tugged them down enough to sit under his balls. 

That was when the door opened. Liam stiffened, staying as still as possible. No one could know that he was here, with Marcus, cheating on his paired Master. It was so like Marcus to want to expose Liam for the lying, cheating slave he was, despite their agreement. He left it up to Liam to keep quiet, not to let the person on the other side of the desk know he was there, but if he didn’t follow Marcus’s orders, he wouldn’t get what he wanted.

Marcus reached under the desk casually and pushed Liam’s face towards his dick while he reached his other hand out and shook the hand of the person that just entered. Liam licked his lips to smooth the way and took Marcus in his hand. Ants crawled along his skin where he connected with the Master’s skin. The physical repulsion was palpable and hard to ignore; he had to though. He opened his mouth and let Marcus slide onto his tongue before closing his lips around him. The Master didn’t hum, didn’t seem to notice that Liam was blowing him at all as he asked the other person to sit across from him.

“I have business of a private nature,” Marcus informed the guest.

“Of course, discretion is my first priority, Mr. DeWare.” It was a woman judging by the voice. She sounded sure but appropriately submissive to the powerful man. She must be a slave. “What can I do for you?”

Liam had paused to listen to her and got a sharp pinch high on his cheek for his lingering. He got back to work, sliding down the length of him and licking up the bottom side of his dick on the way up. Marcus sighed, not inherently pleased but not irritated either. “I need to push a transaction through the system without names or paperwork.”

“Sir,” she immediately countered, “skipping a bit of the paperwork shouldn’t be a problem, but I need a name if nothing else. If something were to come back to me, I won’t be the only one going down for it. Unless of course, you prefer I use your name when discussing the transaction.”

“Watch your mouth you-” Liam sank down on his cock to the hilt, pushing the head into his throating and swallowing, ignoring the watering of his eyes and the gag it resulted in. He couldn’t let Marcus tick off their connection. They needed her. Marcus did gasp then and the hand under the desk snapped to the back of Liam’s head. “Yes,” he breathed. “Well, then, I suppose my name will have to do.”

Thank God. Marcus was a monster and a rapist, but he was a man of his word if nothing else. Zayn’s name would stay out of it so he couldn’t be implicated if this went badly. The relief that flooded Liam had him gripping Marcus tighter in his fist as he pulled back and mouthed at the wet cockhead.

“Though,” Marcus huffed, then coughed to clear his throat. “Though, this isn’t for me.”

“No?” she wondered. “Who is the transaction for, then?”

Liam hollowed his cheeks and sucked. Hard. Marcus’s hips shifted in his fancy desk chair. “I won’t say,” he muttered, obviously talking to Liam with the way his hand curled tighter around the back of his neck. “Suffice it to say, I have a deal to uphold.”

They talked details for a while and Liam’s jaw was aching, but he didn’t dare stop. Marcus was doing everything he said he would, and a forced blowjob was nothing compared to what Liam was getting out of this. That’s what he told himself anyway.

Marcus was twitching, hitting against the roof of his mouth as he bobbed his head; he was close. The Master slid a hand to Liam’s cheek and pressed his thumb to the stubbled skin to feel as his cock brushed against it from the inside. Liam had to tense all of his muscles not to shy away from the touch.

“I think that will be all for now. Let me know when the transaction has gone through, and please,” he curled his fingers where they were resting under Liam’s ear and scratched all the way down his jaw, making Liam squeeze his eyes shut in pain, “take all the time you need.” Marcus pressed his hand into the points of pain and kept it there.

The woman thanked him and when Liam heard the door shut behind her, he whimpered and shrunk away from Marcus’s hand. The Master scooted the chair back and stood. “Come here,” he ordered. Liam ducked out from under the desk and straightened his back so he was level with Marcus’s dripping cock. “You really know how to get your way, don’t you, slut?”

Liam knew what he wanted to say, and he knew what Marcus wanted to hear. He chose the latter. “Thank you, sir.”

Marcus made a satisfied sound. “You’re learning.” He stepped closer, mashing his dick into Liam’s cheek. “Finish me off.” Liam nodded and reached up to pull Marcus into his mouth, but the Master’s, _'no hands'_ , made him lower it back to his side and lean his head to try and catch the cockhead between his lips. When he did, he didn’t waste any time. He wanted to be done with it.

“Well, slave. At least that sorry excuse for a Master taught you something useful.”

Liam didn’t want even the thought of Zayn on Marcus’s mind, so he doubled his efforts and swallowed Marcus down. Within a minute, Marcus was pistoning his hips against Liam’s face and spilling down his throat. He tasted like hatred and betrayal but Liam swallowed the load anyway. 

Marcus flopped back into his chair and grinned. “Maybe you’ll be of use to me yet.”

Shame washed over Liam and made him bow his head. If Marcus took it as a sign of submission, then so be it. He pushed back tears of self-loathing and choked out, “Thank you for keeping your word today, sir.”

“A deal is a deal,” Marcus noted off-handedly as he pushed his softening cock back into his pants. “Now that the business part of the deal is over, we can have some real fun.”

It was a promise, and one that had Liam shuddering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whatta a dick, amirite? Liam is trying so hard to do what he thinks is best and he has no idea he doesn't have to. 
> 
> If you skipped, GOOD FOR YOU! Basically, Liam convinces Marcus to hold up his end of their deal and Marcus calls a woman in to handle some super-secret business for him, but while they are having their meeting, Marcus forces Liam to suck him off under his desk. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and a huge shout out to my lovely beta Maya! Things are progressing and I couldn't do it without her. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	12. XII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone knows about Louis's past now, but Louis just wants to move on. His partners help him in doing so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy #LeaveMeFriday everybody! This week is sad but also not sad and, well, you'll see. In advance, sorry for leaving you hanging, but there will be more to come. Enjoy, xo
> 
> Update (31 July 19): WHOOPS! Guys this has literally been sitting as a draft since Friday and thank the Lord for [WrennAddysen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrennAddysen/pseuds/WrennAddysen) for pointing out my lack of update! Here y'all go, and at least now you only have to wait a couple days for the next one. :)

Telling Zayn and Harry about Louis's past was possibly the hardest thing Niall had ever had to do. Louis offered to do it, but Zayn was already so furious with him that Niall thought it safer if he took the responsibility. Not that it helped much. Zayn had screamed and thrown a vase across the common room of the hotel suite they were occupying for the night. Then, he'd rushed out the door, slamming it behind him, and understandably disappearing for a while.

Harry was stock still, hands folded in his lap and a crease between his brows as he thought. Louis was watching him for any clue as to what was going on inside his head. Niall was rubbing Harry's back in long soothing strokes. They were all so quiet it caused a ringing in Louis's ears, but he wasn't about to take this necessary time away from his partners.

After what felt like years, Harry got up from the couch he was sitting on to approach the one Louis occupied across from him. He got on his knees between Louis's thighs and hugged him tightly around the waist, head resting against his chest. The relief that rushed through Louis had tears pressing at his eyes and he hugged Harry back. Hard.

"You could've told us," Harry murmured, lips mushed against Louis's shirt.

It took him a long time to realize Harry was right. "I know that now."

Then, Niall's hands were on the sides of Louis's neck, tilting his head up and connecting their mouths in a slow, easy kiss. "No more secrets," Niall urged, his voice lower than a whisper. Harry made a sound of agreement and Louis nodded in Niall's hold.

"I don't know how to fix this," Louis admitted, closing his eyes and letting his head rest in Niall's hands. The blond sat down next to Louis on the couch and pulled him in.

The Master stroked Louis's soft hair and shushed him. "There's nothing for you to do. Let Zayn and I take care of it. I want you right here."

It sounded so inviting and Louis couldn't resist asking, "Can we go lay down?"

Harry perked up at that. "Yes, please," he added and looked to Niall for an answer. Niall tried to keep a firm face, but his smile broke fast at the hope in Harry's eyes.

"Yeah, come on," he allowed, taking Louis's hand while Harry grabbed his other one and practically dragged them into one of the suite's rooms. Louis saw the big, fluffy bed and groaned, just then realizing how much he needed the comfort. Niall kept his hand low on Louis's back as they walked across the room. Harry was already stripping his shirt off.

Louis turned to face his Master, chest brushing chest, and settled his hands on Niall's small waist. He leaned up and took Niall's mouth, parting his lips when they went slack against his. Louis moaned, so starved for the ease of this. He just wanted to go home, to go back to waking up to these two and morning sex and Harry's breakfasts and sliding down to kneel between Niall's feet to wait to be fed.

Everything was so complicated right now, but this was easy.

Harry's hands added to the ones on Niall's hips, pulling the three of them flush and kissing Niall's pale neck. "Louis's been so sad, Daddy. Doesn't he deserve to be taken care of?"

Louis's mouth went slack against Niall's, a sharp inhale brushing both of their lips. Niall groaned down in his throat and dug his fingers into the soft skin of Louis's clothed hips. "He definitely does, baby."

With permission granted, Harry reached around Niall to start tugging at the button of Louis's tight jeans, eyes catching Louis's as he sucked on Niall's milky skin. Louis bit his lip; he'd always been a fan of watching these two together. Niall leaned his head over just a little to wordlessly encourage the curly-headed slave to keep going while his hand slid up Louis's torso, taking his shirt with him.

Louis raised his arms, allowing his shirt to fall to the floor as his jeans were tugged down his hips. Harry huffed when he couldn't reach because of the body between them and scurried around the duo to kneel on the bed behind Louis and push his jeans down that way. Louis stepped out of them, kicking them away with his shoes.

It felt like months since they'd touched him like this, despite it being a whopping  _few days_. His emotional reserve was dry and the hands on him quenched an aching thirst. Harry's hand came around to Louis's front, sliding firmly over the bulge in his pants as he rocked his hips against Louis's perfect, round ass while Niall pressed against his front and kissed him again.

"Guys," Louis groaned, helpless.

Niall chuckled and tangled his fingers in the hair that curled against Louis's nape. "You need to relax, Lou. I'm going to make you relax."

"How are you going to do that, sir?" Harry asked, chin tucked over Louis's shoulder.

The blond's face split with a smile and said, "I'm so glad you asked, baby," as a hand came up to ruffle Harry's hair. "I was thinking we should show Louis just how much we love him, how much we love his pretty mouth," Niall traced Louis's pink bottom lip with a finger, "how much we love his pretty nipples,"

Harry beat Niall's hand to Louis's chest and tugged on one of the buds, making Louis exhale sharply, "how much we love his pretty arse," that was Harry's cue to rock against Louis's ass, "and, of course, his pretty dick." Niall snuck his fingers under Louis's waistband just enough to tease the head of Louis's cock that had crept up to his hip.

Louis jolted at the touch, head falling to Harry's shoulder. Harry beamed behind him. "You have the best ideas," he teased and tucked his fingers inside Louis's waistband as well. "Can I take them off, Daddy?"

Niall tilted his eyes down and nodded. Harry pulled Louis's pants away, sliding them down thick thighs to the floor to reveal Louis's flushed hard on. Niall licked his lips, mouth suddenly dry with want. "Harry," Niall drew his attention. "Come choke on Louis's cock a little, hmm?"

"Fucking hell, Ni," Louis cursed as he dick twitched harshly and Harry hurried around to kneel between his Master and his fellow slave. Louis dropped his head and took in the sight of Harry- big doe eyes, slick open lips, hair mussed from excitement- and brought his hand up to cradle his cheek. "Sir?" Louis asked without looking away from Harry. "May I?

"Not yet," Niall told him, making the blue-eyed slave look up in question. "First, I want you to promise me you'll never keep something like that from me ever again."

"Niall," Louis went to argue, but the blond pushed two fingers into his mouth, sufficiently silencing him.

"Promise me," he ordered and held Louis's defiant gaze. Finally, when Harry huffed, displeased, Louis nodded.

Niall removed his fingers and Louis croaked, "I promise."

"Good, now that's settled," Harry assessed and opened his mouth wider, tilting his chin up invitingly.

"Not quite," Niall interrupted. "You can have his mouth, Lou, but know that after you've come, there will be a punishment for lying before you can have me."

Louis's forehead creased angrily. "Niall, but-"

Niall stopped him with, "Excuse me?"

The slave lowered his head in reverence and said, "Sir, please..." He shook his head, knowing he had no perch to argue from.

"You lied to me, you lied to Harry, and it put this family in danger. I want you to take your punishment, be good, and then move past it. Understand?" Louis couldn't bring himself to look at either of his partners, but he nodded anyway. "Good," Niall sighed and raked his fingers through Louis's hair. "Go ahead, Haz."

Harry smoothed both hands up Louis's thighs to garner his attention and, when Louis was looking at him, he licked a long, teasing strip up the bottom side of Louis's dick. Niall seemed pleased by Harry's choice, judging by the drawn-out hum. Louis, on the other hand, was not nearly as pleased.

"Harry," he admonished and rocked his hips towards the slave's face.

"Okay, Lou," Harry granted and smirked before dropping his jaw and lowering down on the other slave's prick. Louis's hand went to Niall's shoulder, squeezing tighter the deeper he slid into Harry's mouth. Niall placed a hand on the back of Harry's head and pushed. Harry made a surprised sound but relaxed and allowed his lips to hit Louis's hips.

"Haz," Louis moaned. It was hard to focus on anything besides the blinding heat of Harry's throat, but emotion was coiling up in his chest. He'd messed up, really messed up, but somehow he was still embraced by two amazing men, his dick in a soft, warm mouth. It wasn't fair, but fuck all if he would bring up the injustice, not when he felt this good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next...two, I think, chapters are pure Nouarry smut. Get on the train ladies and gents and enjoy the ride. Louis sure will ;) Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	13. XIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Niall and Harry give Louis the night he deserves (Part 1).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just giving in to my most basic desires here, y'all. Happy #LeaveMeFriday. Here's some smut. Enjoy xo
> 
> Also, shout out to my lovely beta Maya for sticking around this long!

Louis was leaking onto Harry’s tongue, his cockhead twitching against the tall slave's soft palette. He was so close, but he knew the moment he came, he’d be left up to Niall’s punishment. His Master could read him like a book though and stole a searing kiss before twisting Louis’s nipple between his fingers until Louis pressed his face to Niall’s neck and came down Harry’s throat with a near painful spasm.

Harry took him like the perfectly submissive man he was, looking up to Niall with Louis’s cum sitting in the well of his tongue. Niall nodded and Harry shut his mouth to swallow, smiling proudly up at Louis. Louis fell down to his knees to kiss his fellow slave because looking like that- red lips swollen and eyes glassy- how could he not?

Niall let them; he could appreciate the sight of two attractive slaves enjoying each other, especially if they were his. He almost felt bad twining his fingers in Louis’s hair and yanking his head back. Louis was still soft from his orgasm, panting and having a hard time keeping eye contact with his Master.

Niall wanted to ruin him.

He pulled Louis up by his feathery hair, earning a sharp yelp from his slave. Harry actually looked envious. Niall marveled at his little masochist. Louis, though, was harder to break, but the rush when he did was heady. Niall offered Harry a thumb across his still spit-slick bottom lip before leading Louis by the hair to bend over his lap as he sat on the bed.

With his slave’s ass folded over him, it became so glaringly obvious that Niall was still fully clothed while Louis was naked. There was something dirty about it. Niall’s only desire was to go from dirty to filthy and with Harry on his knees looking at Louis over Niall’s lap with hunger on his face, Niall knew what he needed.

“Take your clothes off, Harry,” Niall ordered, voice a low growl. Harry was quick to obey, stripping off while Niall massaged Louis’s ass in his hand. “Grab the lube and open yourself up,” he told Harry once he was naked. Louis groaned, cheek pressed to the bedding, as his hips rocked against Niall’s lap.

Niall didn’t give a warning, just slapped his hand down on Louis’s plump, tan cheek. “Be still,” he growled while Louis whined and tensed. Harry was back in front of them on his knees with the bottle of lube in his hand, looking to Niall for more. “Turn around, all fours. Go slow. I’ll spank Louis until your open and I deem you ready.”

“Yes, daddy,” Harry agreed and turned around, falling to his elbows and raising his ass in the air. His hole was right there, pink and tight, and both of the other men made noises of desire.

Niall spanked Louis again, harder and swifter. Louis cried out but made sure to keep his body as still as he could. Niall cooed at him, “Good boy, Lou. You always take your punishments so well.”

Louis buried his face in the bed as he mumbled, “Thank you, sir.”

Harry slicked up a finger and reached down between his legs to circle his tight pucker before pushing the tip inside. Niall heard the little huff Harry loosed as he breached himself. “There you go, Haz. Nice and slow, just like that.”

Another spanking. Louis’s ass raised in the air just a little, but he didn’t hump Niall’s lap, so the Master let it slide. He spanked Louis relentlessly, hard enough that his hand was starting to tingle, while Harry put one then two fingers inside his hole and pulled the ring of muscles loose. Niall squeezed Louis’s red ass hard in his palm, making the slave gasp and then moan.

“Harry, hand me that lube will you?” Niall asked offhandedly, like he wasn't in the middle of teasing and torturing his slaves. Harry paused, looking at the lube beside him and then going to pull his fingers out. “No, no,” Niall tisked. “Keep your fingers going. I want to see them inside you.”

Harry whined. It was meant to embarrass him, and it worked. Harry huffed in his effort to keep his fingers moving as he reached across his body with his free hand and sat up, sliding down on his fingers more, to pass the lube backward to his Master. When he leaned back to get within reach of the blond, he rubbed against his prostate and shivered, dropping the lube on the floor just a few inches from Niall’s foot.

Niall sucked his teeth. “Well, that’s unfortunate,” he teased and slapped Louis’s ass again for the hell of it. “Try again, baby.”

Harry squeezed his eyes shut, tears welling up from frustration and shame and lust. He twisted his body around, sure to keep his ass facing Niall, and reached out for the bottle, scrabbling for it with his fingertips and catching it before holding it out to Niall. Niall ran his eyes from Harry’s long, glorious fingers, all the way up his arm to his quivering lips.

“Good boy,” he praised and took the bottle. Harry sighed in relief and fell forward again, finally able to ride his fingers again. His cock was bobbing heavily between his legs and Niall knew he was too turned on to be ashamed.

The blond snicked open the bottle and drizzled lube onto two fingers. Louis had to know what he was going to do the moment Niall asked for the lube, but he’d stayed still and quiet while Harry had struggled. He was still surprised when a wet, cool finger prodded at his pucker. The cold temperature of the lube against his heated ass made Louis inhale sharply and spread his knees wider on the bed.

“Oh, you don’t have to beg, baby,” Niall mocked. “You’re getting fucked. You took your punishment so well, and Haz and I are both dying to get at you.” Niall punctuated the words with a finger that slid into Louis’s body easily. Louis arched his back with a moan, asking for more. Niall pumped his finger in the same cadence that Harry was currently fingering himself open with, which was faster than Niall would’ve normally started with but Louis just reached back and spread his ass open with a needy hand.

Harry was three fingers deep while Niall had two pushing inside Louis when the Master ordered Harry to stop and he pulled his fingers out of Louis. He slapped Louis’s blooming ass one more time for good measure and he felt the slave’s hard-on twitch against his lap.

“Come get on the bed, Harry,” Niall ordered and Harry pulled his fingers free to scurry up onto the bed behind the two men. Niall ran a hand up Louis’s sinfully curved spine and told him, “Get up.” Louis ambled off his lap and stood, eyes blown dark and erection leaking onto his stomach, waiting. “Louis?” Niall started and drew Louis’s eyes from where they were watching Harry. “You have a few choices. You can have whatever you want tonight.”

“Yes, sir,” Louis answered, unsure what Niall was offering but taking it all the same.

“You and Harry are both nice and loose. You can fuck our favorite masochist,” Niall proposed, “while I fuck your sensitive ass.” Louis swallowed hard, shifting between his feet. “You can let Harry and me inside you together and truly ruin you.” Louis groaned, hands going to fists beside his thighs. “You can have my cock while Harry fucks your face and then you can fuck him after he’s come- you know how sensitive he gets.”

“Sir,” Louis breathed, shaking his head and pleading with him to stop. “I want…”

“What do you want, Lou?” Niall prompted.

Louis raked a shaky hand through his hair and licked his lips. “I want you both inside me.”

Niall nodded, somehow already sure of what Louis was going to pick. “So greedy,” he taunted but reached out and pulled Louis between his knees. “I’ll need to open you up a bit more then, why don’t you ride me for a while and Harry can suck your cock before he fucks you?”

Harry rolled his hips against the bed in agreement and Louis nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Niall stood, undressed, and went to sit at the head of the bed against the headboard. He let his thighs spread lazily and waved Louis to him. Louis couldn’t tamp down his smile as he crawled up the bed. “Turn around and face Hazza,” Niall instructed, which had Harry turning onto his side to watch, his cock pink and poking his hip.

Louis turned and straddled Niall’s thighs, hands resting on Niall’s knees and he sat back on his Master’s dick. Niall led his tip to Louis’s hole and his mouth went slack as the blunt head popped inside. Opening his slave with just two fingers left him suffocatingly tight around his shaft as he slid inside inch by inch.

The blue-eyed slave dropped his head and whined high in his throat when he bottomed out and squeezed around Niall’s dick. Niall slid his hands up Louis’s chest, enjoying the curves of the smaller man and taking in the glorious moment of having him sitting on his lap. He leaned forward and kissed Louis’s back.

“Harry,” Niall whispered, afraid to break the serenity of the moment. “Come here and suck on Louis’s pretty cock for a bit, huh?”

The way he pitched his voice low and even had Harry shivering as he nodded and crawled over to his fellow slave. He tilted his head up to kiss him on the lips first, earning a small smile, before leaning over Louis’s dick and kissing the tip. Louis hummed and carded his fingers into Harry’s hair. Harry pressed into the touch, signaling to Louis to grip harder and take control.

Louis understood perfectly and gripped the hair in his hands, pushing Harry down on his prick. Niall’s hand were still roaming, twisting a nipple or scratching across his sensitive hip. Louis moaned and rocked his hips, shifting Niall inside him and pushing into Harry’s warm mouth. Niall took that as his cue and gripped Louis’s hips harder, lifting him up a few inches off his cock and pulling him back down.

A delicious moan trickled from between Louis’s lips as his eyes fluttered closed. Niall was stretching him open and sliding along his walls in the best way. He let his Master move him as he pleased, riding him in languid strokes as he slid past Harry’s slick lips.

Harry was swiping his tongue across the head before Louis pulled out and pushed back in, sliding across the length of it when he went deeper. Harry was warm and familiar; he wanted his fellow slave inside him so badly. Louis had his chin tilted up towards the sky, mouth hanging open in pleasure as he sat back on Niall and pushed into Harry.

“Guys,” Louis whined. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 next week! Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	14. XIV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think you're ready (for this jelly). Happy #LeaveMeFriday, my loves! This is just pure joy in smut form. We need the fluff, you know? Enjoy, xo

“Guys,” Louis whined.

They both knew what that meant and Harry popped off Louis’s dick with a wet sound, licking up the salty precome that dripped towards his chin. Niall pulled out of Louis smoothly and led him back to his chest to wrap his arms around him. “How do you feel, babe?”

Louis let his head fall back onto Niall’s shoulder and slid his hands up his own body, needing to feel more. “Want it,” he panted.

Niall purred in satisfaction and locked eyes with Harry. “On your back,” he instructed him and the green-eyed slave was quick to comply. He laid on his back, legs sprawled across the large bed and a smile on his face. “Lou,” Niall murmured into his ear, “why don’t you go over there and sit on Harry’s cock. Lay your back against Harry’s chest, knees up. Got it?”

Louis keened, a sweet, desperate sound trickling off his lips, and nodded. “Yes, sir.” He took his time, ass just starting to get sore and head lazy with lust. He crawled over to Harry before lowering down to give his favorite slave a slow, deep kiss. Harry hummed into it, bringing a hand to Louis’s neck to hold their lips together until he could lick into his mouth and make Louis gasp. Niall chuckled, watching them, and slid possessive hands up the backs of Louis’s thighs.

Louis arched back into it before breaking their kiss, breathing warmly against Harry’s lips. “Wanna let me ride you?” Louis asked, smirk tilting his mouth. Harry bit down on his return smile and nodded. Louis kissed him in reward and turned over to settle the length of his back along Harry’s chest, the brunet’s long arms coming to wrap around Louis’s waist, holding him steady.

With Niall’s dark gaze on him, Louis lifted his knees towards his chest and curled his hands around the backs of his thighs. Niall’s eyes slipped down Louis’s body to his slick hole, tracking Harry’s cock as it slid between Louis’s spread cheeks and against his hole and taint. Louis moaned and his head fell back on Harry’s shoulder.

Niall felt the incredible urge to lay over him and bite into the tan, slender line of Louis’s neck, but then Harry was swiping lube over his dick and leading his tip to Louis’s hole and Niall couldn’t miss that for the world. Louis’s hands were clenched in the bedsheets on either side of Harry’s body, for support or in need Niall couldn’t tell.

Harry kissed along Louis’s shoulder, leaving wet smacks as he pushed into his fellow slave. Louis moaned into the still air of the hotel room and rolled his hips down on Harry, taking him another inch. Niall couldn’t believe he was this lucky. He had a front-row seat to watch the way Louis’s rim stretched to accommodate Harry’s sizeable prick, to see the vein that ran along Harry’s cock disappear into Louis’s body.

They moved together, working Louis full of dick until Harry’s hips met Louis’s ass and they both sighed, relieved to be connected. Niall did crawl forward then, but only close enough to reach both of their legs, one hand massaging Harry’s calf and the other squeezing Louis’s shaking thigh.

“How’s he feel?” Niall asked.

“So good.”

“Fucking hell.”

Niall huffed a laugh at their respective responses and said, “Harry?” When his slave tipped his head up to peer over Louis’s shoulder, he added, “Fuck him.”

Harry squeezed Louis’s hips while Louis groaned and started rocking his hips off the bed in shallow movements, sliding into the blue-eyed man over and over. It was gentle and sweet and Louis was writhing for more. Niall shushed his whines and crawled between the two, straddling Harry and sitting between Louis’s clenching thighs, their legs a beautiful tangle.

“I know, babe. You want more, don’t you?” Niall cooed. Louis nodded, hair swishing against Harry’s face. Niall grabbed the lube from where Harry had dropped it on the bed and slicked up two fingers. “I’ll take care of you, Lou. Don’t worry.”

Harry’s hands started to roam, over Louis’s chest and down his flank. “Daddy always takes care of us, Lou,” he agreed.

Niall pressed one finger against Louis’s puffy rim, making the slave’s mouth drop open in anticipation. When he pushed inside, Louis clenched on instinct and Niall had to palm teasingly at Louis’ softening cock to distract him. “I know it’s been a while, Lou, but you were always so good at this. You were made for us.”

Louis nodded, breathing his body into relaxation and allowing Niall’s finger to slip into him. Niall cursed under his breath at the tight heat, adding to Harry’s surprised moan. The younger slave’s thrusts faltered, pushing in hard as Niall’s finger moved inside Louis’s entrance.

“Feels so-  _shit_ \- so good, Daddy.” Harry’s fingers were bruising on Louis’s hip already and he couldn’t wait to see the marks he left after they were both inside him.

“Let’s open him up proper. What do you say, Haz?” Niall coaxed. Harry just groaned, but Niall took it as consent and gave his first finger a few more strokes for good measure before adding a second. Louis’s gasp was airy and delicate and Niall couldn’t help but smile hearing it. “I love those sounds, baby. Let’s see if we can make you scream.”

“Yeah, yes,” Louis stuttered. “Please, Niall.”

Two fingers pulled on Louis’s rim before sliding into his hole and both slaves shared a moan. Louis was squirming, pushing away yet rocking down on Niall’s fingers and Harry’s cock in one movement. Harry pressed the heels of his feet into the bed to get just a bit more purchase to press into Louis.

“Ni, wait,” Harry wheezed. “I’m-” Harry's nails dug into Louis’s hips and his toes curled into the bed as Niall paused his ministrations. Harry’s body shivered with restraint. “I’m so close,” he informed them, though they’d both already guessed. “Lou,” he groaned and buried his face in the slave’s hair. “I love you.”

Louis preened, back arching at the words, and tilted his face to kiss Harry awkwardly. “I love you, Haz. So much.” They traded small pecks and wandering kisses until Harry breathed deeply and said, “Okay, keep going, Niall.” Niall kissed Louis’s knee and resumed his technique, scissoring his fingers inside his slave to prep him for taking them both together.

Louis was a mess, hairline sweaty and face flush with exertion. He was whimpering and moaning and his cock was valiantly hardening again as his body opened up. Niall couldn’t keep the pride off his face. He drizzled more lube over another finger and watched it slide it easily, Louis open and willing.

Harry wasn’t moving anymore, didn’t want to tempt fate and come before Niall was inside with him. Instead, he spent his time laving Louis with affection, finding Louis’s cock and teasing a thumb against his flushed head. That earned a moan from the bottom, loud and full and glorious. “Niall, come on,” he lamented. “Inside me. Now.”

Niall just laughed and stretched his three fingers apart. “Testy.” But he folded and pulled his fingers out, wiping the excess lube up Louis’s perineum and across his balls, tugging just for the gasp Louis gave him. “You sure you’re ready, Lou?” Niall questioned as he poured lube over his pulsing head.

Louis huffed and aimlessly kicked his foot out at Niall, just barely missing his shoulder. “Yes, I’m ready. Fuck me.”

Harry was burying a laugh in Louis’s shoulder and tweaked a nipple, bringing Louis down a level with the spasm that moved through the slave. Niall crawled up to hold himself over Louis, hand next to Harry’s shoulder, and lined himself up with Louis’s twitching hole.

“Fuck you?” Niall teased and Louis nodded. “Not a chance. I'm too busy making love to you.” He pressed against Louis’s rim, impeded by the fullness of Harry’s prick. He reached a finger out and slipped just the tip back in, pulling him open and making a space for his cockhead to wedge into his slave.

Louis was shaking, hands clawing at his thighs, trying to keep them in the air. “Oh, shit,” he breathed. “Ni, harder.”

That was a command Niall could get behind. He put more effort behind his hips and pushed harder, the head slipping inside with an obscene squelch. Louis shouted, cursed and gasped, and spread his thighs wider as he pulled Niall in.

Harry’s hand were imprinted on Louis’s hips by now, permanently embedded. “Jesus, he loves it. I can feel him milking us and you’re not even seated yet.”

Louis spat a quiet, “Tosser,” at Harry but there was no heat behind it. Niall kept working his way in, pulling his finger out and swiveling his hips to make Louis take inch after inch. Louis’s hand snapped forward, against Niall’s chest, and grabbed at him. “Niall,” he whined, high and broken. “Yes,  _yes_.”

The Master could feel how Louis tightened and had to rub soothing patterns against his stomach. “Relax, baby. Let me take you.” Louis took purposeful breaths and his body melted into Harry’s, opening more and allowing Niall’s balls to finally settle against Louis’s ass. “There you are,” he praised, leaning down to kiss his slack lips. “You’re amazing, Lou. Perfect.”

Louis couldn’t nod, couldn’t kiss back, just whined and scratched at Niall’s skin. “Sir,” Louis whispered, and Niall closed his eyes in bliss. It took a lot for Louis to let himself be soft, to let Niall own him in body as well as in spirit.

“My good boy,” Niall awed and let their cheeks brush. “Thank you.” Niall let his head fall a little further and kissed Harry, too. “You okay?”

Harry laughed, a delirious, airy thing. “Am I good? God, I’m good,” he assured and licked across the seam of Niall’s lips.

“Should we fuck our boy like he asked?” Niall wondered.

Harry purred, biting his lip. “I’d love to.”

Niall nodded, kissed Louis’s cheek one more time and finally-  _finally_ \- rocked his hips back and fucked into Louis, sliding along Harry’s length and suffocating in the heat of them both. The threesome was a collection of noises that would’ve made a whore blush, calling out to each other in need and grasping for skin just to hold themselves together.

It didn’t take long for Harry to grip tight at Louis’s arm and loose a long, satisfied moan as he filled his fellow slave. Niall picked up Harry’s lax hand and wrapped it around Louis’s bobbing prick, signaling him to stroke Louis to climax. Niall focused and aimed into the sensitive place inside Louis that he knew so well.

Together, they brought Louis to the cusp and made him scream out in ecstasy as he shot between their chests and clamped down brutally tight on their lengths. Niall was lost then, couldn’t hold out and shoved in deep to add to Harry’s load in his perfect, precious, willing slave with a deep groan. Louis was limpid, arms and legs sprawled as Niall pulled out and Harry slipped out after.

Niall fell to his back on the bed and pulled Louis off Harry’s chest to curl their bodies together, reaching out for Harry to saddle up against Louis’s sweaty back. When they were all three settled and Louis was smiling dopily against Niall’s neck, the blond kissed his hair and hummed in peaceful sublime. His family was exactly where they should be. Together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My boys *heart eyes*. Welp, I hope you enjoyed it because shit is about to get real starting next chapter. See you next week. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	15. XV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis is on a mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, all. Happy #LeaveMeFriday! This one is going to make you cringe and wince. The fluff is over, bring on the pain. Enjoy, xo.
> 
> **WARNINGS for this one! Dub-con for sure for sure, so I'll sum up at the bottom for you self-respecting people. If you want to skip, stop reading at the double-spaced paragraph.**

Louis woke up overheated and sore. It was possibly his absolute favorite position to be in. He cracked one eye open and instantly recognize the sleek plane of the chest he was nuzzled against. He could feel the long lines of another against his back and smiled. He hadn't felt so loved in what seemed like forever.

These two were pure-hearted, good souls and Louis felt filthy lying between them, soiling their bed with lies and betrayal. He'd needed them, just one last time, if he was going to go through with what he knew he needed to do.

And what a last time it had been.

Louis was adept at slipping from between his two lovers from countless bathroom breaks in the night and the need for cool air on his heated skin. Tonight, though, he didn't just need to sit at the end of the bed and breathe, or hop to the en suite before climbing back between them. Tonight, he was leaving and not coming back.

Neither of them stirred much, except for one small reach of Harry's hand when Louis removed himself that almost had him changing his mind, but he steeled himself and reached for his clothes. The slave didn't even contemplate showering or cleaning up. If something were to happen, he wanted to die remembering what they did in that bed.

Once he was sure neither of them would wake up, Louis left their room, snicking the door shut behind him. He made it halfway across the suite's main room, had just grabbed Zayn's car keys, when a voice jolted him from his mission.

"I trusted you."

The slave froze, keys halfways to his pocket, and turned towards Zayn's voice in the dark. Somehow, it felt right that he should have to face Zayn again one last time. "I know," he acquiesced.

There was shuffling but no light to see what was happening, just the chalky reflection of the moon on the edges of the furniture. "I would've done anything for you." His voice was closer now and Louis shivered at the proximity.

"I know. That's why I had to go."

There was only silence, except for the quiet shuffling of feet on carpet. Louis could just barely make out Zayn's form as his eyes adjusted, but he couldn't tell what he was doing. "When you left, I thought my life was over."

It hurt, but it wasn't anything he didn't already know. He was well aware of the pain he'd caused Zayn, wished he could erase, but he couldn't. "We wouldn't have been happy," Louis admitted.

"I was happy," Zayn murmured, moving closer in the dim shadows of night. "I thought we were happy," he scoffed, "but I had no idea."

Louis raked a hand through his messy hair, chin falling to his chest with the weight of his mistakes. "I'm sorry."

"Are you?" Zayn asked, and he was right there, close enough to make Louis jump, and Louis immediately smelled alcohol on his breath. When the slave looked up, Zayn's dark eyes were menacing.

"Yes," he whispered, broken and scared of himself, of Zayn, of Marcus. "I'm sorry."

"What are you going to do about it?" Zayn questioned, and now that Louis knew, he could clearly hear the slur in his words.

Louis blinked, unsure. "What do you mean?"

Zayn slid a hand down Louis's arm- not an unfamiliar gesture between them, but foreign all the same- until he reached the hand with Zayn's keys. He didn't take them, just let Louis know he knew where they were. "What do you plan to do about what you've done?"

There is was. He knew Zayn knew what he was planning. Louis pulled out of Zayn's grip and stepped back. "I'm going to get Liam back," he answered.

Zayn's laugh was bitter but knowing. "And how do you plan to do that? You don't know where he is...Do you?" The last words were accusing and filled with untapped hatred.

"No," he told him quickly, "but I'm going to find out." He saw Zayn's chest deflate and realized that Louis had given him hope that didn't exist. He stepped back into Zayn's space and wrapped an arm around his neck in a tense hug. "I will find him, and I'll bring him home."

Zayn didn't move, but he tilted his mouth to Louis's ear and said, "If you don't come back with him, then don't come back at all." Then, he pushed Louis away and swayed back over to where Louis could see the refractions of a glass bottle on the coffee table. Zayn picked it up and wandered to the other bedroom of the suite.

Louis was left alone in the too-quiet room with the remnants of Zayn's stained breath and a directive.  _Come home with Liam, or don't come home at all._

 

Finding Liam wasn't the hard part really; getting him out was going to be the hard part. Louis drove to every place he'd ever been with Marcus, hitting up people that he'd once known, or once blown, and pried information from them like pulling teeth. He finally got a lead that Liam was in one of Marcus's throw-away homes that he used to keep slaves that he didn't want the public to know about and headed that way.

It wasn't one he'd ever been to before, but then again, he was kept in one place most of the time he was with the Master. He wondered if Liam was experiencing the same fear, the same foreboding that Louis went through when Marcus had taken him. Always under watch, often tied down and waiting for Marcus to use him. He wondered if Liam was even still alive, if Marcus didn't get angry and just kill him.

Louis drove out to the address he'd been given and only made it to the outer gate in Zayn's car when he realized he wasn't going to get any closer like this. He got out of the car and shoved the keys into his pocket, trying to decide the best way in. When he went up to the gate, he saw two men on the other side, both with guns, and knew he had the right place at least.

He only recognized one of them but figured that was as good a place as any to try. "Johnny," he whisper-yelled to the man on the other side, making him turn and freeze for a moment.

"Louis," he said, part impressed and part dumbfounded. "I heard rumors, but come on, even you can't be that dumb. There's a shoot on sight order on your head." The guard came up to the gate, waving the other man over with him. "Garrett, this is Louis. One of Marcus's old toys."

"Old toys? I didn't know they lived long enough to be old," Garrett mocked as he eyed Louis from head to toe. "Though he's pretty enough, maybe Marcus went soft."

Johnny shook his head. "Oh no, this one got away." He spoke to Louis then, "If he finds out you're here, you're dead. Actually, I should probably just kill you now so I don't get my ass handed to me." He readjusted his gun against his side and looked pointedly at the slave. "Why'd you come here, Lou?"

"I heard he's got someone new. A pretty brunet guy."

Johnny raised a mocking brow. "Jealous? I didn't take you for the type."

Louis huffed; he didn't have the patience for this. "I need in there," Louis informed him.

Both guards laughed, but Johnny's was almost sweet. "Baby, you don't want to go in there. He's enjoying the new toy, and he's not looking to rekindle old flames." He conspicuously flicked the safety off on his gun and heaved it up, just to the left of Louis's head. "I really think we should get this over with before someone else finds out I let you live this long."

Louis backed up a step from the gate, but didn't let his fear show on his face. If they were going to kill him then there was nothing he could do about it, but he needed to get into that house, and now. He swore he was never going to go down this road again, but he'd already broken so many promises, what was one more.

He swallowed his pride and straightened his shoulders. "Are you sure I can't convince you?" Louis asked, licking his lips.

When Johnny did immediately shoot him, Garrett scoffed. "Is this kid for real?"

Johnny ignored Garrett's comment; he was looking right at Louis. Louis stepped forward again, head inches from the barrel of the rifle. "You remember how good I was. I know you do."

Garrett was looking to Johnny for a lead, but the familiar guard was tracking the way Louis's teeth dug into his bottom lip. Johnny slowly lowered the gun and stepped forward. "Just like how you used to, yeah?"

Louis pushed down his revulsion and nodded with a smirk. "Yeah, I remember."

"You can't be serious, man. He's going to get us killed," Garrett complained.

Johnny shook his head and punched the opening code into the gate. "It's worth it. You've never had someone like this slave."

Louis refused to let his praise make him shudder, pressing down his nature and leveling his gaze with this lower Master. "Afterwards, you'll take me inside?"

The guard pursed his lips, thinking. "I haven't decided. Maybe I'll fuck your face and then kill you anyway." Johnny had one corner of his mouth raise teasingly, but Louis knew it was a viable outcome. 

What choice did he have?

"Let me see if I can change your mind," Louis purred and dropped to his knees on the pavement. Johnny cursed and swung his gun around to settle against his back before fumbling with his trousers to get them undone.

Garrett was shaking his head. "There's no way some slut's mouth is worth your life."

Johnny paused with his zipper half undone and grabbed a handful of the other man's shirt. "Try him before you decide. If you don't like him, I'll let you put him down."

Garrett inhaled sharply, looking between his coworker and the slave on his knees. Louis tried to put on his best demure, slutty gaze. He looked up at the man through his long lashes, mouth parted slightly like he was breathing heavy already. The guard cursed under his breath and nodded. "Fine, but I get him first."

Johnny shrugged and combed one large hand through Louis's hair. "That's alright. I like him when he's loose."

Louis closed his eyes against the words, shoving them away. When his resolve was built up again, he opened his eyes and turned to face the new guy. "Well? What are you waiting for?" Garrett growled and pulled Louis closer by his hair.

Here goes everything, Louis thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those that skipped: Louis gets a lead that Liam is at one of Marcus's like safehouses. He goes and realizes he knows one of the guards from when he belonged to Marcus. He decided to try to convince him to let him into the house with a blowjob, which means he also has to blow the other guard, too. He feels like shit for it.
> 
> Things are ramping up again. I'd love to hear your thoughts! See you next week. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	16. XVI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis finally finds Liam. He'll probably wish he hadn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am truly sorry but things are going to get ugly for a while. Not that this whole thing hasn't been ugly. Happy #LeaveMeFriday. S/O to Maya for beta'ing and always keeping it real! Thanks, girl. 
> 
> Just a small bit of triggering in this one. Nothing explicit so I'm not going to recap, but tread carefully friends. Enjoy xo

Louis wiped his mouth of the drop of cum that had slipped from the corner. He looked up at Johnny and forced the hatred in his eyes to dissipate. "Worth it?" he deadpanned and pulled himself to his feet.

Garrett was leaning up against the fence, soft dick hanging from his tactical bottoms while Johnny raked his cum-crusted fingers through Louis's hair, making him wince. "More than," Johnny assured him, voice rough as he tucked himself back into his pants. "I can't understand why you'd want to go in there, but a deal's a deal. Garrett, put that thing away and keep watch until I get back."

The other guard saluted two lazy fingers their direction and zipped up his trousers. Johnny took Louis by the elbow and led him up the long driveway to the large double doors that entered the house. It wasn't the biggest one Marcus owned, but it was large enough that Louis was surprised no one had found it yet.

The entryway was deadly silent and only lit by two dim wall sconces. For some reason, he expected guards, guests, or a combination of the two. Marcus enjoyed his fair share of parties, his fair share of opportunities to show his captives off. The eerie stillness left him feeling like, if Liam was here, he was in more danger than Louis thought. “Where is he?” Louis whispered.

“He’s been spending a lot of time with his new toy lately,” Johnny informed him. “He’s probably in the slave’s room, but you don’t want to interrupt that.”

Louis turned and tugged on the hold Johnny had on his arm just enough to emphasize his next words. “Yes, I do.”

Johnny stopped them, pulling Louis to a halt. “Is that why you’re here? Is he a friend of yours?” When Louis only lowered his eyes, Johnny crowded in close and seethed. “Fucking stupid, slave. He’ll kill you as it is, but he’ll make it painful if you try anything. This new toy isn’t just anyone. He’s Zayn Malik’s abandoned slave.”

Louis pulled free of Johnny’s hold but stayed pressed close, voice just as hard. “He wasn’t abandoned, and he doesn’t belong with that psycho.”

The guard just laughed. “You always were crazy. It’s your funeral, man.” He took hold of Louis’s arm again and started up the beautiful winding staircase. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

They stopped in front of an innocuous door, one that reflected every other door they’d passed. The only difference was the small whimpers he could barely hear through the wood. Louis lurched for the door but Johnny impeded him by gripping harder. “Just wait a fucking second, okay.”

With a deep breath, Johnny knocked on the door. A second later, they heard a familiar voice spit, “This better be good.” There were heavy footsteps and then the door swung open, revealing Marcus, shirt half undone and zipper pulled open. His eyes went from bored disdain to surprise to hateful to dangerous in a split second as they landed on Louis.

“Stupid fucking slave,” Marcus huffed. “He came here on his own?” he asked the guard, who nodded but said nothing. Marcus stepped closer and Louis had to clench his jaw tight to hold back the whimper threatening to spill out. The Master eyed him harshly, riding the line between cavalier and scheming. His hand lifted to flick at Louis’s hair.

“You’ve already used him, I see,” Marcus pointed out and slid his eyes over to Johnny, who cleared his throat and lowered his head. “No, no,” Marcus assured. “I understand. He’s really only good for one thing, might as well get your time’s worth before I end him, right?”

Louis felt the guard relax next to him. “Exactly,” Johnny agreed, suddenly smiling.

Marcus smiled. “Was he still as good as you remember?” He reached for something while Johnny hummed.

“Fucking ace, Mr-” A gunshot rang out the quiet hall next to Louis, whose mouth fell open as blood splattered his face. The large man fell to the floor in a heap before blood began to spill all over the carpet and onto Louis’s shoes.

Marcus lowered the gun and turned to Louis. “No one touches my things,” he reminded and yanked Louis inside the room.

He got his first glimpse of Liam, mostly naked save for his pants and tied to the four posts of the large bed. They'd never gotten along but the other slave was still a sight for sore eyes. Liam's eyes were surely sore, bloodshot, but he shakily lifted his head up to try and see the commotion. Fresh tears were slipping down his cheeks and Louis knew he’d heard the guard being shot. As soon as he realized who Louis was, though, his mouth dropped open and he fished for words.

Louis shook his head minutely, begging Liam to keep quiet. Liam, for his part, seemed to understand and slowly laid his head back on the pillows. Marcus shoved him on the bed, making Louis hit Liam’s shin face first. Pain shot up his nasal cavity and the metallic scent of blood filled his nose. Liam winced but bit his lip to stay quiet.

“Liam, this is Louis. He was my possession long before you were.” Liam’s eyes went wide at the information and he silently begged Louis to explain, even though he knew he couldn’t. “Apparently, the toy didn’t get enough the first time because he’s come back to me.” Marcus went to sit on the side of the bed and trickled fingers up Liam’s naked flank. “They always come back to me,” he mused.

Louis wiped his face to clear some of the blood away and then cleaned his hand on his jeans. “Sir, I’ve come to trade my service for Liam’s,” Louis spoke up as he stood from the bed.

Marcus arched a brow and turned where he sat to look at him. “Why would I do that?” His hands were still sweeping up and down Liam’s side, but now he curled his fingers and dug his nails in along the way, making Liam gasp in pain.

“Because,” Louis urged, hoping to garner his attention, “you remember how good I was. I’m guessing Liam hasn’t been nearly as easy to train. I’m-” He swallowed. “I’m a much better slave for you.” He walked around the bed to stand before Marcus. “Plus, I know who he belongs to-” Marcus's hand swung through the air like a whip and slapped him across the face; Louis quickly corrected himself. “-who he belonged to. Wouldn’t it be easier to take me instead?”

Marcus hummed, thoughtful as he let his eyes rake over Louis’s small, curvy body. “I remember you being one of the best I ever owned. Maybe you should prove that you’d be worth it.” Louis nodded, knew it was coming sooner and later, and moved to kneel before the Master. “Uh uh,” Marcus stopped him and lifted him back up with a finger under his chin. “I want you to prove to Liam that you’re worth more than him.”

Louis turned his head to look at Liam, who was pleading with his eyes for Louis not to do this. The blue-eyed slave only nodded, jaw achingly tight and ground out, “Of course, sir.” The words stung in his throat, tasted like bile, but he pushed it away and crawled onto the bed on Liam’s far side. He sat on his heels and waited for instruction, but wanted to be sure that he was understood. “If you like what I do, you’ll take me instead of him?”

The Master sighed, put out, and flicked his eyes from Liam’s shaking form to Louis’s still one. “I only have the patience for one of you.”

Louis nearly melted with relief and nodded gratefully. He wouldn’t be going home, but at least Liam would, and that was what everyone wanted- that was what he deserved. He placed a gentle hand on Liam’s chest and felt the rabbit thumping of his heart. “I’m going to take care of you for a bit, Liam,” Louis promised, ignoring Marcus’s scoff.

“Good luck. I’ve been trying to get him to obey for hours. The bitch can’t even get hard.”

Louis skimmed his eyes down to Liam’s clothed lap and saw that Marcus was right. Liam was soft in his pants and his legs were still trying to close. He closed his eyes against what Marcus must’ve been trying to do to him for who knows how long before Louis showed up.

“Well? Get on with it, slave. I’m bored already and that doesn’t prove much.”

Louis felt his comeback on the tip of his tongue but then Liam was pressing his chest against Louis’s hand and humming. When Louis looked back up into his eyes, he knew what Liam was saying.  _Be careful_. Louis gave him the smallest smile he could manage and rubbed his hand over Liam’s chest, one pectoral and then the other.

Liam didn’t relax, Louis didn’t expect him to but he kept going. He tried to send ease and safety through his touch as he massaged large circles around Liam’s chest, stomach, shoulders, hips. “I’m going to touch you now, Li.” Liam whimpered, shook his head and begged Louis not to with the tears that welled up. Louis shut his eyes against the onslaught of guilt. “I have to, pal. I’m sorry.”

He’d just gotten to Liam’s waistband when Marcus’s hand slapped over his and stopped him. “Pal?” Louis snapped his head up, realizing his mistake. “You’re really friends. Here I thought Zayn sent you to exchange your life for his, but you’ve chosen to do this.” Marcus licked across his teeth, tasting blood in the water. “This just got beautiful.”

The Master stood and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “If Zayn wants two slaves, then let him see them together.” He held his phone up and aimed it towards the two slaves on the bed. “Louis, show Zayn just how badly you want to prove yourself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Show of hands who hates Marcus. At least we all agree on something because I know everyone has differing opinions about Louis and Zayn and everyone else. At least we all hate Marcus. Amen. See you next week. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	17. XVII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcus forces Louis to do the unthinkable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sweet Jesus. Hey guys. Sorry this is late. School started up again this semester and with four Lit classes and Econ, I've got my reading and writing hands full. I will do my very best to stay on schedule but bear with me.
> 
> Anyway, the chapter. Here it is...it's awful. Like filthy and terrible and makes your skin crawl, awful. SKIP IF YOU NEED TO! I'll do a brief recap at the bottom. Next chapter won't be better. Actually just know the story is a black hole at this point. 
> 
> Enjoy? xo

Louis’s fingers skirted along Liam’s waistband and the slave under him shuddered. The blue-eyed man leaned down and pressed his mouth to Liam’s ear. “For Zayn, Li, please. I’m trying to get you home to him.”

Liam whimpered but Louis felt his imperceptible nod. Louis sighed out, relieved and kept going. He encouraged, “Think about him. Imagine it’s his hand holding you,” as he slipped under the fabric and circled his fingers around Liam’s soft dick. Louis winced when a pained sound slipped from Liam’s lips again but he pushed on.

“Tell me, Liam. How does Zayn touch you?” he whispered, praying Marcus didn’t hear him.

“I-” Liam gasped and Louis finally felt the first inclination of arousal. “Lower,” Liam huffed, more air than words. Louis obeyed and slid his hand down to the base of Liam’s shaft and tugged. Liam moaned then turned and hid his face in his shoulder, embarrassment bright red on his cheeks.

“That’s good, so good, Liam. Like this?” Louis urged and twisted his wrists as he tugged harder. Liam squeezed his eyes shut tight but nodded shortly. “What else? What else does Zayn do for you?”

Liam’s chest twitched with a sob and he shook his head. “I can’t,” he breathed. He lifted his eyes and bore them straight into Louis’s. “Help me,” he begged, broken and needy and Louis felt tears sting at the backs of his eyes.

Louis lurched forward and took up Liam's entire field of view. “I’ve got you,” he soothed, hand still but he let his thumb caress the underside of his length. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you, Liam. I promise. You’re getting out of here.” He ducked down and pressed his lips to Liam’s who opened for them like the touch-starved mess that he was.

“You, too,” Liam assured, but Louis just tilted his lips into a ghost of a smile.

“We’ll see. Let’s focus on you for now.”

Marcus tangled his fingers in Louis’s hair and yanked his head back, momentarily blinding Liam with the room light and making Louis yelp. “I thought you came to prove your worth, Lou. If you can’t even get one useless slave off then what good are you to me?”

“I can, sir,” Louis ensured. “I will.”

Marcus let him go with a shove and sat down on the edge of the bed, too close for Louis's comfort. “Then get on with it,” the Master ordered, sounding bored.

Louis nodded, eyes still on Liam. “I’ve got you,” he promised one more time before moving his hand again. Liam stuttered on a moan and Louis felt the blessed thickening of his dick. “There you go, Li. So good.”

“Slide his pants down,” Marcus instructed coldly. “I want to see my prize get hard.”

Louis bit down on a rebuttal and leaned forward to take up Liam’s view again. “I’m right here,” he confirmed and kissed him harder, aiming Liam’s focus on the wet slide of their lips while he pushed his thin boxer briefs down his hips as far as he could with Liam’s legs tied to the bed.

“I’m going to make you feel so good, Li.” Louis pried Liam’s mouth open gently and soaked up the other slave’s sigh as their tongue slid together. Louis started stroking him with purpose, silently praising all the gods that he could feel the hot pulse of blood filling Liam.

Liam’s hips shifted on the bed and Louis could tell he was forcing himself to keep as still as he could. Louis slid a hand down Liam’s chest and tugged at a nipple just as he bit down sharply on Liam’s bottom lip. Liam groaned and arched into him, breaking their kiss to pant, “Again.”

Louis kissed him harder with pride and pinched his nipple between his fingers and twisted, relishing Liam’s deep moan. He moved down Liam’s body to get his mouth on the other pert nipple, twisting them both while Liam’s let his head tilt back and his eyes fluttered shut.

They might actually pull this off. Liam was brilliant, perfect. He could see why Zayn was so obsessed. Louis wished he’d gotten to experience this under vastly different circumstances but at least he was going to get Liam home. He was somehow making Liam feel good in the worst moments of his life and if they did well enough, it would be Liam’s ticket out of here.

Louis let his eyes fall shut, too, focusing on the task at hand. He kept his grip firm on Liam’s dick, twisting and thumbing just under his head as he licked and nibbled at Liam’s chest. They were good; they were really good at this.

Just when Louis started to feel the slick warning of precome on his hands, Liam whimpered again and instantly started to go soft in Louis’s grip. The blue-eyed slave lifted his head in confusion and saw Liam's eyes open again, looking at Marcus.

Shit. He should’ve stayed between them so Liam wouldn’t have to see the demon. Louis turned his head and looked at Marcus, who still had his phone up and recording but had also taken his cock into his other hand and started to get himself off.

Louis scurried up his body to block his view but Liam was already shaking his head and only getting softer by the second. “I can’t,” he whispered and Louis shook his head.

“You have to, Li. For Zayn.”

Liam squeezed his eyes shut and rocked his hips into Louis’s fist a couple times. Louis could see the sheer force of will, how hard he was trying, but then Liam’s mouth began to quiver and he went loose on the bed. “I  _can’t_.”

“Well, that is unfortunate,” Marcus snapped and stood from the bed.

Louis cursed himself, Marcus, the whole night internally and looked back over his shoulder. “I can,” he assured. “You know I can.”

Marcus picked the gun up from where he’d left it by the door and sauntered back over to the bed. Louis felt the icy chill of fear settle in his bones. “It seems to me like you’ve lost your touch, Lou baby.”

Louis shook his head, frantic and pleading. “No, just hold on. I can make him come. I swear.”

Marcus sighed like he was actually considering it even though Louis knew he held the slave’s opinion in the lowest regard. “How about this? You have five minutes, starting…” Marcus flicked his eyes to the clock on the wall. “Now. If you can’t make the toy come then I shoot you for wasting my time. Deal?”

“Thank you,” Louis urged because he didn’t really have any other choice. He turned back to Liam and leveled him seriously. “Liam, I know this sucks, but I need you to do this for me. Now.” Liam nodded but didn’t move, stayed frozen and waiting. Louis huffed and ordered, “Close your eyes. Picture Zayn. Don’t open them until I say.”

Liam nodded again and did as he was told. Louis crawled down the bed and didn’t waste a second before taking Liam into his mouth, sucking hard enough to make Liam gasp in surprise. He employed every trick he’d ever learned, praying to deities he didn’t believe in to grant him mercy and favor.

Liam was at least thankfully hard again, but Louis knew he was nervous by the twitch in his fingers and the clench of his jaw. Louis reached one hand up to toy with Liam’s now puffy nipple and the other to tug and massage his balls. It wasn’t discrete and it wasn’t sexy, but it was powerful and, hopefully, it would push Liam out of his head.

The tied-down slave moaned and rolled his hips against Louis’s face.  _Yes_ , Louis wanted to scream.  _Finally. Just like that, Liam._  He swiped his tongue rewardingly back and forth across the thick vein that slithered up Liam’s length. Liam tugged on his binds, then obviously remembered where he was, but he dutifully didn’t open his eyes and Louis lowered down as another reward.

The blunt tip of Liam’s cock brushed Louis’s throat and he relaxed around it to let it slip deeper. Liam moaned, almost painfully deep, and curled his hands around the rope that kept him bound, clenching hard. Louis could taste him on his tongue now, but he didn’t know how long they had left. All he could do was swallow rhythmically around Liam’s cockhead, toy with his aching nipples and press hard, soothing circles against his perineum.

Liam was quivering, shaking in his binds and Louis knew they were close. They’d were going to do it. He couldn’t believe they were-

“Time’s up.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats to those that skipped. Basically, Marcus forces Louis to get Liam off in exchange for his life. They try real hard but understandably Liam can't quite get there. Just when Louis thinks he's done it, Marcus calls "time's up".
> 
> Once again, sorry for the delay. See you next (this?) week. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	18. XVIII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slave gets to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy #LeaveMeFriday everybody! I'm on time this week; you're welcome. lol. Just a warning, I'll be on a cruise this time next week so I will not be posting. You might need a small break after this chapter anyway. 
> 
> *TRIGGER WARNINGS* for violence. I'll put a little recap at the bottom as always. Take care of yourselves. Enjoy xo

“Time’s up,” Marcus purred, all dark joy and power and Louis heard the thick thud of the gun against the nightstand.

Louis whimpered that time but didn’t pull off. He wasn’t giving up that easily. He tightened his lips and purposefully gagged himself, throat tightening sporadically. Liam yelled and arched off the bed and shot down Louis’s throat with a reluctant groan.

He didn’t swallow; instead, Louis sat up and turned around on his knees to face Marcus, opening his mouth to show Liam’s cum pooled on his tongue. Marcus leaned in, slipped a finger into the mess and watched with darkened eyes as Louis closed his lips around the finger and sucked.

“You did well,” Marcus cooed, but it was less kindness and more mischief. “Maybe you haven’t lost your touch. I’ve been trying to get him to come for days and you managed it in five minutes.”

Marcus pulled his thumb out and Louis swallowed the load in his mouth before answering. “Thank you, sir.”

“Well…” Marcus halted and tilted his head in thought. “Not actually in five minutes.”

Louis felt his heart sink. “I was so close. I can do better,” he promised.

Marcus hummed, seeming to consider it as he shut the recording off on his phone. He got up and went to where Liam’s clothes were hanging off a chair and slid the phone into the slave's pocket. “For your  _Master_ ,” he spat and came back to the bed. “I know you tried,” he told Louis, “both of you,” he added and eyed Liam, who cowered from the gaze. “So, I’ve decided to leave the choice up to you.” He reached over and untied one of Liam’s hands, who stayed perfectly still until Marcus backed away again.

The Master grabbed the gun he'd laid on the nightstand and placed it on the bed between Liam and Louis, making sure Liam could reach. “Only one of you gets to leave here, go back to your sniveling Masters and tell them what you’ve done. You decide who gets to go home.”

Liam and Louis both looked to the gun, then to each other. Liam shook his head in shock. “I won’t.”

Louis starred at him. “You have to.”

“Oh, one more thing,” Marcus added lightly before opening the drawer of the side table and taking out another gun, which he held firmly in his own hand. “You have one minute to decide or I kill you both instead.”

“Fucking hell, Liam,” Louis grit out. “Take the gun.”

Liam was still shaking his head. “I won’t.”

“If you don’t, we both die,” Louis urged and saw tears collecting at Liam’s waterline.

Liam tried to sit up more but was caught by the rope around his ankles. “I’m not shooting you, Louis. I can’t.”

Louis growled and picked up the gun, making Liam’s eyes go wide, but then he took Liam’s limp hand and slapped the gun into it, curling his numb fingers around the grip and trigger. “You  _have_  to. I promised Zayn I would get you home.”

Marcus’s condescending laugh interrupted them. “You don’t even belong to him anymore and you’re still trying to make him happy. How pathetic.”

Louis tried to ignore him, to focus on Liam. He scooted forward and picked Liam’s hand up by the wrist, pushing the barrel of the gun to his own forehead. “Do it, Liam.”

Liam tried to pull away but Louis held him firm. “Louis, stop it!”

“Do it, Liam!” Louis shouted back.

“Twenty seconds,” Marcus cued and Louis clenched his eyes shut.

He saw his entire life flash before his eyes: left as a young boy to roam the streets, being found by Marcus’s men and taken back to be trained, meeting Zayn and lying to him; his first night with Niall and Harry. 

Louis smiled despite himself. Niall’s bright blue eyes. Harry’s wide, pure smile. The two most perfect people in the world and they somehow loved him.

“Ten seconds.”

Liam’s hand was shaking so badly Louis was sure he’d missed even at point blank if Louis didn’t have a hold on it. The blue-eyed slave pressed his forehead harder against the barrel and murmured, “I love you, Niall. I love you, Harry.” He opened his eyes again to see Liam crying, dense tears tracking down his cheeks. His gaze pleaded with Liam to do it; he was ready. Liam shook his head weakly but Louis could tell his resolve was broken.

“Three.”

Louis nodded and Liam sobbed.

“Two.”

Liam flicked the safety off and whispered, just for them, “I’m sorry.”

“One.”

The gun went off and Louis’s head snapped back with the force of the bullet. Liam dropped the weapon instantly, letting it land beside his hip, and brought his shaking hand to cover his scream. Louis hit the mattress with a dull thud before crimson began to seep into the fabric, painting Liam’s entire world with red.

Marcus hummed. “I didn’t think you’d actually do it. I thought I’d have to kill you both.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m impressed.”

Rage boiled up in Liam’s chest.  _Impressed_. All of Liam’s muscles tensed with righteous hate. His teeth ground together and his vision dimmed to just the arrogant gleam in Marcus’s eyes. Liam snatched up the gun on the bed and fired two shots before he'd even really aimed. One missed but the second landed in Marcus’s ribs, making him sink to the ground on his knees.

It felt like justice delivered by a higher power how that happened to line Marcus’s now shocked face directly up with the hot metal end of the barrel. Liam felt the feral smile that split his face just a second before he pulled the trigger again and watched as blood splattered out the back of the dead Master’s head.

 

It could’ve been hours that passed with Liam sitting on the bloodied bed in frozen despair. Louis’s face looked serene, almost like he was blissfully asleep minus the gaping wound in his skull. Liam couldn’t look at him but he also couldn’t  _not_  look at him. He couldn’t stay here; he couldn’t go  _home_.

How would he tell Niall and Harry what he did? They would never forgive him. Would Zayn even want him back after this? He was having a hard time even remembering why he came back to this city in the first place. Was it even worth it? How could Louis’s life be worth less than his own desires?

He let his head sink and covered his face with his free hand as he sobbed openly for his own misfortune and the loss of an innocent life. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m so sorry.” It seemed all he had to offer, the only thing he could think to say. “I’m so sorry, Louis.”

_I promised Zayn I would get you home_.

_Zayn_ , Liam thought and sighed. He needed to see Zayn. There was nothing else in the world he needed besides that. Nothing else mattered anymore. He didn’t care what kind of life he led as long as it was led by Zayn.

He gathered his wits and shook off the debilitating numbness enough to untie his other hand and rubbed the soreness away as best he could. His feet were still tied but Louis had fallen against one of his legs and he couldn’t quite deal with that yet so he untied his unhindered leg before scooting closer to his fellow slave.

“Forgive me, Lou,” he whispered and shifted Louis’s stiff body off of him. His leg was drenched in red, some of it already dried to his skin. The rope was tinged pink but he did his best to ignore it and undid the knot. “We have to get out of here,” he told Louis as he moved to get off the bed, but he was stopped by his pants, still pulled down around his thighs.

_Oh, god._ That was something he couldn’t stand to think about right now.

He went to the other side of the room and quickly slid his clothes on. He couldn’t find his shoes but it didn’t matter. Liam stepped over Marcus, just narrowly kept himself from stepping all over him out of spite, and took the gun from Marcus’s hand- not the one he’d used to...he couldn’t- and shoved it into his waistband before he went to Louis. “Time to go, Lou.”

He moved through the room like oil through water, in the midst but not a part of. He wasn’t kidnapped, raped; Louis wasn’t dead. Those things couldn't be real or he'd never get his feet under him. They just needed to get home. He heaved Louis onto his shoulder and valiantly ignored the smear of warm, wet blood he got across his neck for it. Louis had stopped bleeding, but the sheer amount of it on his clothes and in his hair was enough to make Liam's stomach roll.

None of it mattered. They needed to get away.

Liam made his way through the large house, trying to remember how he got there on that first night. Finally, he found the front door and wrenched it open to see that the sun was just barely beginning to color the horizon. It was still bright enough to make Liam wince after nothing but synthetic light or darkness for who knew how long.

The front gate seemed to be across the world from them. Their way out was all the way over there and guarded by a single man in all black. Liam skirted towards the trees that lined the fence and came up behind the guard. He wasn’t quiet with a body over his shoulder but it didn’t matter because he got close enough to pull the gun from his jeans and get a shot off, dropping the guard where he stood.

He’d have to come to terms with his ability to kill under pressure later.

Liam shifted Louis more sturdily onto his shoulder and they exited of the same gate Louis had come through the night before. Zayn’s car was still there, still sitting serenely under the shade of a tree. Liam could’ve cried when he saw it.He dug into Louis’s pockets and sent up a prayer just before he felt the small lump in his pocket. 

Liam unlocked the car and opened the back door. Laying Louis down was harder than picking him up and almost dropping the other slave was just one more thing he’d never tell a soul. Liam hovered over his body in the back seat and took just a moment to really look at him. Louis was beautiful. Sharp and ethereal. Good.

Liam pressed his forehead to Louis’s cheek and felt silent tears drip from his face onto Louis’s skin. “I’m so sorry.”

With one last light-as-air peck to his cheek, Liam got into the driver’s seat and started the car. He was still having trouble seeing straight and his head felt like it was going to explode, but he put the car in gear and took off down the road. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, in case you skipped...Louis's dead. Like dead dead. Yep, I know, I'm terrible and honestly it hurt to write. Louis is my fave so it wasn't easy. When they didn't make it within the five minutes, Marcus gave them a choice for one of them to kill the other or Marcus would kill them both. Louis convinced Liam to shoot him. But Liam then shot Marcus because he's the BOMB and Liam escaped with Louis's body. 
> 
> Phew. Everyone take a breath. It's only a fic. I really sad, disturbing one but hey. Let me know what you're thinking/feeling. Drop a comment. I'll see you in two weeks. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	19. XIX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Masters' search for their slaves come to a tipping point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good #LeaveMeFriday to everybody. I hope everyone has a good week last week. Sorry I was gone, but I'm back, baby, and shit is getting crazy...er. More emotional, let's say. Enjoy xo

Zayn sputtered, choking on frigid water, and startled to lucidity. “What the hell?” he shouted. 

Niall set the pitcher down and grabbed Zayn by the collar. “Where is Louis?”

The dark-haired Master had a headache, a hangover, and an aching hole in his chest that never seemed to go away anymore. “The fuck are you talking about, Niall? I don’t keep up with your slaves.”

Niall shook him, making Zayn’s headache worse. “Don’t lie to me, Malik. I swear to fucking Christ-”

“Niall,” Harry whispered and laid a hand on the blond’s shoulder. “If he doesn’t know, he doesn’t know.”

Niall shoved Zayn away and got up from the bed. “He took your car,” Niall informed him and Zayn just vaguely remembered something about car keys last night.

“Seriously? Who does he think he is?” Zayn complained lazily.

“He wouldn’t take it unless he had a good reason,” Harry assured, leading Niall back a few steps for safety. He turned back to a sopping Zayn and urged, “He didn’t say anything to you?”

Zayn rubbed at his temples. “Mate, I don’t remember anything from last night after the revelation that I’ve been a pawn in Marcus’s games from day  _fucking_   _one_!” Zayn yelled and stripped off his shirt roughly. He stood from the wet bed and pulled his suitcase onto the chair. “I also don’t have time for this. If Louis took the car, I’ll have to rent one so I can keep looking for Liam.”

“We’re not just looking for your slave anymore, Zayn. Mine is missing, too!” Niall yelled, only held back by Harry against his chest, then scoffed. “He probably went off looking for Liam because you made him feel guilty, like this is all somehow his fault!”

_I’m going to get Liam back_.

Zayn squeezed his eyes shut against the vague whisper of a memory. This was Louis’s fault. And Marcus’s, but still. Louis had lied. He’d been lying since the day they met him and he deserved to feel guilty. “This is his fault,” Zayn seethed. “If he did go to find Liam, then at least he’s making up for even a  _tiny bit_  of what he’s done to me.”

He pulled his pants off and switched them for a clean pair before sliding on a pair of jeans and a new shirt. Niall and Harry were having some sort of whispered conversation. Zayn ignored them; he couldn’t care enough when he had bigger problems.

“Fine,” Niall huffed and held up both hands in surrender.

Harry nodded and turned back to Zayn, who was slipping on shoes. “We have to put aside what’s going on between you two if we’re going to find the boys. We can’t afford to be distracted right now.”

“I don’t need your help,” Zayn spat and closed his suitcase again.

“You’ll need all the help you can get,” Harry reminded. “Think of Liam.” He looked over his shoulder at Niall. “Think of Louis.” He spoke to them both. “Are you willing to let your pride get in the way of getting the man you love back?”

Niall and Zayn glared at each other, but ultimately they nodded and Niall said, “I’ll do whatever it takes to get him back.”

“Welcome to my life,” Zayn jabbed.

Harry pulled Niall away before they could get started again, leaving Zayn with a, “we’ll leave as soon as you're ready.” The slave sat on one of the sofas in the living room and tugged his Master down with him. Harry slid a hand behind Niall’s head and hugged him tightly.

He hadn’t even gotten a chance to cry yet. They’d just woken up with a giant hole between them and as Niall called out for the missing man, Harry felt the truth like lead in his stomach. He’d frantically scrambled from the bed to search the bathroom and then the common rooms to no avail. Niall was headed into Zayn’s room with a pitcher of water before Harry could even call the front desk to see if they’d seen him.

Now that the adrenaline had bled away just a little, they both felt tears soak into each other’s shirts. “Why would he do this?” Harry asked, but didn’t particularly want to hear the answer.

“I don’t know, baby,” Niall breathed, voice wet. “He had to have gone to find Liam. What I don’t understand is why he didn’t take us with him.” Niall’s hand gripped at Harry’s hair.

“I don’t know either,” Harry admitted and kissed Niall’s neck, seeking comfort. “We need to get dressed and go find him.”

Niall drew back and wiped at his face, then at Harry’s. “Let’s get him back.”

 

They headed back to the club to start with. The young attendant had seemed mildly sympathetic if nothing else. Zayn had rented a car and Niall and Harry had taken the back seat together. Niall could barely stand to look at the dark-haired man. If they lost Louis, he’d never forgive Zayn.

The club was just as seedy as they remembered. The glass was dark and the street was empty. Zayn wrenched the door open and walked straight up to the androgynous boy at the stand who cowered back when Zayn got in his face. “Where is he?”

Harry quickly snuck between them and put his hands to Zayn’s shoulders. “Why don’t I try first?” Zayn just grit his teeth and stepped back a little. Harry turned to the scared boy and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry about that. We, um…” His voice broke over having to say it out loud. “The other slave that was with us yesterday, he’s missing.”

“Louis?” the boy asked and Harry’s eyes went wide.

“Yes, Louis. You know him?”

The boy nodded. “He was around before I...came here, but he was nice to me. Taught me what to do so I wouldn’t get punished. He’s gone?”

Harry’s heart squeezed painfully hearing the boy talk, glimpsing what he’d been through, what Louis had been through. “Yeah,” he sighed. “We think he went to go find Liam, the other slave that we came looking for. Do you have any idea where he might go?”

The boy shook his head quickly, before Harry even finished the question. Harry sighed, knowing the boy was scared to talk. Zayn pushed Harry aside and came into the boy’s space again. “Liam is everything to me, and I won’t leave this godforsaken city until I find him. I know you don’t know what it’s like to have a Master that loves you-”

“Zayn!” Harry chastised and slapped his arm. “He didn’t mean that. We’re all sort of manic right now.”

Niall came to the boy’s other side and softly coaxed, “You said Louis helped you once?” The boy nodded. “I’m sure he could’ve gotten hurt for helping you, and I know Marcus is scary, but if we find Louis, we’ll find Marcus and we won’t let him leave alive. Louis helped you, now is your chance to help him.”

The attendant came around his stand and faced Zayn. “You’re right. I don’t have a Master that loves me. I’ve never known what that feels like...but you love your slave, right?”

Zayn nodded. “More than anything.”

The younger man worried his lip between his teeth for a moment before saying, “I don’t know where he is, but I heard rumors of a new house Marcus has been spending a lot of time at.”

Zayn took the lead and ran with it. They were definitely going to get a fine from the rental company for their speed, but he could care less. What really bothered him was the traffic. A huge chunk of the area was moving at a crawl and Zayn was vibrating out of his skin.

Niall wasn’t much better beside him. The blond was tapping to no particular rhythm on his thigh and trying to look out the window to see around cars. “What the hell is going on?” Niall lamented. “This is fucking insane.”

When they got close enough to see the scene, Harry made a sympathetic sound. “I think it’s a wreck. There’s an ambulance.”

Niall rolled the window down and peered out the window. “Sorry if I don’t take the time to feel pity; I’ve got something more important on my mind.”

“Don’t be cruel,” Harry chastised.

Zayn scoffed. “Cruel is having your slave taken from you and tortured by a…” His words cut off when they crept by the scene. “Is that…?”

“Fucking hell,” Niall gasped, all the blood draining from his pale face.

Zayn’s car was crumpled against a lamppost, the hood dented into an accordion. The windows were all busted out and one door was ripped off the hinges. The dark-haired Master stomped on the break and shoved the rental into park as cars around them blared their horns and shouted out of their windows. Zayn couldn't hear any of it. “No,” he hissed. “No, no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate that they have to hurt, but I'm a literary sadist of the purest form. Come @ me. The next few chapters are going to be this really interesting juxtaposition. Get ready. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	20. XX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, a day late but hopefully not a buck short. This one is super emotional so prepare your hearts. Good news? Liam and Zayn are reunited at least. It's the little things, you know? Enjoy, xo
> 
> ALSO! A co-editor and I are jumpstarting a digital platform for young creatives to showcase their work. Any medium, genre, style, or topic is welcome! Submit your stuff for the October round of publications. We're also doing an Edgar Allen Poe Halloween contest. See our website for more info!
> 
> P.s. Super duper shout out to the best, most forgiving beta ever. Maya, you're the bomb. Sorry for being a lazy ass writer.

     

     

Louis was smiling. His hands cupped Liam’s cheeks in a soft embrace and lifted his gaze. “Liam,” he called gently. “Liam, look at me.” He couldn’t. Everything hurt. His head hurt, his neck hurt, his chest hurt. His heart hurt. He refused to open his eyes. Louis tisked at him. “Come on now, Liam. Don’t be rude,” he chided and flicked Liam on the forehead. “Look at me.”

Liam cracked open one lid, and then the other. Bright, brilliant light flooded his vision and he snapped them shut again. The brown-eyed slave moaned in distress. Louis cooed, half-mocking, half sympathetic. “I know, but this is important and I need your attention. Look at me.”

Liam tried again, peeking out from one eye and letting it adjust slightly before opening the other just enough to see Louis’s shining face, ethereal in its comfort. He really was beautiful. He should have given him a chance. The past is the past- and currently so very far away-; he should try and befriend Louis in the future. “Hi, Lou.”

Louis smiled, but the edges of it seemed sad. “Hey, Li.” When he noticed Liam’s eyes start to wander then slip shut again, he slapped his cheek just enough for the other slave to perk up. “Look right at me. Listen, listen.” Once Louis held Liam’s gaze he sighed. “We’ve gotten ourselves into a bit of a shit situation.”

Liam laughed, but it choked off as pain bloomed in his chest. Louis glanced down at the area, winced, and then looked back into Liam’s eyes. “Yeah, try not to do that, eh? Just relax and listen.” Liam tried his best to agree with his eyes, and it must have gotten through because Louis pushed on. “It’s not your fault, understand? I don’t blame you, and neither do Louis or Niall. They’ll think they do for a while, but they don’t.”

Liam didn’t understand. Louis wasn’t making sense. “Lou-” he croaked, but a sharp wetness bubbled up in his throat and he stopped.

“Now, why would you go and try to talk. What did I say? Just listen,” Louis scoffed, but it was kind and accompanied by the blue-eyed slave’s hand in his tacky hair. “You did what you had to. I’m sorry I messed everything up, Liam. I really-” Louis pressed his lips together and Liam could see the strain it took for him not to cry. “I’m really sorry. I never meant for this to happen.”

He took a firm hold of Liam’s cheek then and spoke pointedly at him. “You have to go home now. Make things right. Hold him. Love him like I never could.”

 _Who?_  Liam wanted to ask, but the pain in Louis’s words stopped him.

“I love them so much,” he confessed wetly. “Tell them, tell them how much I love them. And tell them they couldn’t have stopped me. Tell them-”

Words were too hard. Tears started to fall freely as Louis’s shoulders folded over and started to shake. He lowered down to hug Liam’s heavy body- Liam vaguely wished he could hug back but couldn't- and tucked his head in next to Liam’s ear. “Tell them,” he whispered, “they were perfect for me.”

When Louis pulled back, accessing if Liam understood his request, Liam didn’t have the heart to tell him he didn’t know what a single word meant. He put as much assurance in his eyes as he could and waited as Louis evaluated him. “Yeah, okay. It’s time to go now, Liam.”

 _Don’t go!_  Liam shouted inside his head.  _You can’t leave me...here? I’m all alone and I need you._

One corner of Louis’s mouth ticked up into a half-smile. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

“...You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” Louis’s smile faded away and the rest of him followed, leaving only the blinding white light behind, but the words didn’t go with him. “You’re going to be okay, Liam.”

The words were the same but the voice was different. The light faded away then, too, leaving darkness surrounding him. He was all alone in the darkness now. He shivered, which caused a wracking cough and more wetness in his mouth.

“Someone help him!”

“Sir, back away. We need to get in here.”

“You’re going to be okay, Liam. I love you.”

He knew that voice. He’d know it anywhere. “Zayn,” he breathed and it came out garbled.

“Liam! Yeah, baby, it’s me. You’re going to be okay.”

Maybe Louis left because he knew Zayn was here now. He wasn’t alone. Would Zayn squeeze his cheek and tell him things he didn’t understand, too?

He was floating, flying. His body lifted from the ground and swayed heavy in the air. Then he was solid again. Then moving. Oh, god, it was too much. He wanted to go back to just Louis and him and the white light and the soft hands and the confusing words.

The pain was more tangible now- sharper and vibrant. It hurt to breathe, to swallow. He groaned, wished he was in the place where Louis was. But now he was in the place where Zayn was; he got the distinct feeling those were two very different places.

He wanted to cry but couldn’t seem to tell his eyes what to do. Instead, he just whimpered at the pain and mouthed Zayn’s name. Zayn’s voice was still shouting.

“Let me see him!”

Then another voice, broken and wretched- “Louis!”- but it was distant, so far away in its sorrow. “No, no! Louis don’t you fucking dare!”

Crying.

Pain. He was lifted into the air, even higher than before and he thought maybe, just maybe, he was being taken to where Louis was, but then the light outside his lids disappeared.

“I’m coming with,” Zayn demanded. “He’s my slave. We’re paired.”

There were other voices, but none of them were Zayn’s, so he ignored them and clung to his master’s words.  _He’s my slave_. A thud and then the noise from outside, the familiar wailing, was muted. There was pressure all over, hands sliding over his skin in a chilling, removed sort of way. Everything went blurry for a while as unconsciousness took over, but Zayn kept talking and even when the world went dark, he heard him.

_I’m so sorry, Liam._

_Fuck, baby, why?_

_I’ll never let you go again, I swear._

_We’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay._

Why did he keep saying that? Of course he was okay, Zayn was here.

 

 

Liam groaned weakly as he opened his eyes, blinking rapidly in the face of bright fluorescents.  _Zayn? Where was Zayn?_  He opened his mouth to call out for him but was stopped by the invasive threat of something lodged in his throat. He panicked, groaned louder, but you couldn’t lift his hands to yank out the danger.

In a flash, Zayn’s face popped into view above him, hands cradling both sides of his face and stilling him instantly. “Hey, baby. I’m here. You’re okay. It’s a breathing tube. Just let it breathe for you.”

 _Breathing tube?!_  Liam tried not to panic even more, focused on Zayn’s dark, soothing eyes. His Master must’ve seen the terror in his own eyes though because he leaned down and kissed Liam’s forehead. “Shh,” he cooed. “Relax. I’m here. You’re okay.”

The slave tried to listen, to actually hear what he was saying. Calm down. Relax. You’re okay. He was okay. He was...alive? He was alive! Holy shit, he was alive and with Zayn and Marcus was nowhere to be seen. The events of the night before- of the early morning Liam spent dragging a lifeless Louis with him to Zayn’s car- came rushing back.

Louis.

Liam whimpered again and wiggled his hand to reach for his jeans- the back pocket where Marcus had placed the video of him and Louis. Zayn moved back and looked down to watch his slave grabbing at pants he wasn’t wearing.

He went over to the chair by the window and Liam saw a pile of clothes hanging off the back, his clothes. Zayn reached into the back pocket of his jeans and came back to the bedside with the phone in his hands. “Looking for this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the heartbreak. At least Liam is alive. That's all I'm saying.
> 
> And please please if you ever write or draw or create something you want out there, submit it to The Sedition for consideration! I'm so excited to give a voice to young people like us! Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	21. XXI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam has to face Zayn and the "truth".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm usually a pretty on time kind of person, but lordly lordly I'm not good at this haha. Forgive the time delay but here it is, guys. Huge s/o to my beta Maya. She has been GREAT while working with my forgetful ass. Enjoy xo
> 
> Also, The Sedition is looking for all genres and topics of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and visual artwork! Submit your work to thesedition@gmail.com by Oct 21 to be considered for the October/Halloween publication.

Liam stared at the slim piece of metal and glass in Zayn’s hand. His mind spun. Had Zayn seen the video? Does he know? He had to, with the way Zayn was diverting his eyes to the floor as he came back and sat down at the edge of the bed. If Zayn has seen, Liam didn’t know how he’d live with it.

He never wanted Zayn to know; this was unforgivable. Zayn wouldn’t be able to look at him the same ever again. They were going to fall apart and it was Liam’s fault. Leaving, betraying, lying- Zayn was a better man than most and Liam was sure he could forgive all of that, but  _this_.

“You didn’t…” He couldn’t say it.

Zayn nodded, still looking at the phone he held in his lap. “I did. I watched it.” He didn’t say anything else.

Liam couldn’t get a read on what he was thinking, didn’t know what to say, what to do to fix it. “I’m sorry,” was all he could think to say.

The Master’s eyes slipped closed on a pained, tired sigh. “Liam,” he choked out.

Fuck. “I’m sorry,” he said with more vigor. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to. I-” He broke off, tears clogging his throat. After he swallowed down his self-hatred, he finished. “I didn’t want to.”

“Jesus, Liam,” Zayn grit out. His hand tightened around the phone. “Of course you didn’t.”

“I’m so sor-” The slave’s mouth went slack with surprise. “What?”

Zayn finally looked up at him and there were tears teetering on the line of his lid. There was so much pain in his eyes. Liam never wanted to see that much pain, and surely not on the man he loved. “Of course you didn’t  _want_  to. You were kidnapped, Liam!” He was yelling but not at Liam.

He took a deep breath and started again. “No one can blame you for what you did. You had to.”

“I-” He did have to, right? “Yeah.”

“Exactly. You didn’t have a choice. You had to.”

Why did it sound like Zayn was trying to convince himself as much as Liam? Liam only nodded. Zayn slipped the phone into his own pocket and leveled Liam with a serious look, slipping a hand under one of the slave’s. “None of this leaves this room.”

“What?” Liam asked again, mind still hazy from the accident...the kidnapping...the murder?  _God_ , he didn’t know anymore.

“Listen to me, Liam. Repeat after me.” Liam nodded. Zayn squeezed his hand tighter and said, “Marcus killed Louis.”

Liam snapped his hand away like he was burned and screeched, “What?”

Zayn stood, stepped closer so he was leaning over Liam. “Marcus killed Louis.”

“How did you…”

“He didn’t turn off the recording. That bastard kept recording when you put the phone down.” Zayn looked like he was a few seconds from exploding out of his skin. “That fucking  _monster_  recorded the whole thing, even though most of it is just black.”

No. Marcus recorded Liam...Zayn watched- or heard at least- him kill Louis. There was documented evidence that Liam shot Louis. Zayn knew. The whole world was going to know. “Oh, fuck,” Liam cursed and covered his face in his hands.

“No,” Zayn snapped and pulled Liam’s hands away. “You’re not listening. Look at me.” Liam did, not wanting to disobey when Zayn was like this. “Marcus killed Louis, do you understand?”

No, he didn’t understand! He couldn’t comprehend a single word! “I don’t know…”

“Jesus, Liam,” Zayn croaked, and Liam could tell he was about to cry. He climbed on the bed, straddling Liam’s blanketed lap and placing his hands firmly on either side of Liam’s head. He pulled their foreheads together, noses brushing, and just sighed. “I can’t lose you again. You have to do this. Louis wouldn’t want you to hurt because of him.”

_It’s not your fault, understand?_

Liam heard his voice like Louis was standing right next to him and he felt a sob bubble up in his chest. But it was his fault, and everyone was going to find out what he did and why. “I can’t-”

“You can,” Zayn pressed. “You have to. That scumbag is already going to go down and he deserves to go down for this, too.”

“But he didn’t-”

“He did!” Zayn yelled, caught himself, and took a deep breath. “Repeat after me: Marcus killed Louis.”

Liam’s tongue was lead but he forced it to move. “Marcus killed Louis.”

“Good. Again.”

Tears streaked down Liam’s cheeks. “Marcus killed Louis.”

Liam spent nearly a week in the hospital recovering from the crash and what Marcus did to him. He had multiple lacerations across his back that he convinced the doctors from the crash but didn’t. He didn’t have it in him to tell Zayn how harsh Marcus was to him.

Physically he was doing much better, mostly bruises and aches left, but mentally...he woke up countless times in the night to the dull, slack look on Louis’s face after he shot him. He was drowning in Louis’s blood. He was trying to put the pieces of Louis’s skull back together. Once, he was standing over Louis and smiling, gun in his hand.

He smiled for Zayn but it hurt. His cheeks hurt. His teeth hurt. His entire body was heavy and tired. Niall hadn’t spoken to either of them since Liam’s return, but Harry stopped by one time during the week to check on him.

_Liam’s head popped up at a light knock on his hospital door. Zayn had left a few minutes ago to get them food and he was just about to doze off, but when he saw Harry’s puffy red face, he sat up straighter. “Can I come in?” Harry asked, voice rough from the strain of the past forty-eight hours._

_“Yeah, of course,” Liam assured and motioned to the chair that Zayn had been occupying by his bed. Harry crossed the threshold, gave the room a look around, and then came over and sat down. He placed both hands purposefully in his lap and looked down at his trembling fingers. Liam hated seeing him like this. He hated all of this. “How are you?” he asked because he didn’t know what else to say._

_Harry pressed his lips together tight for a long moment before answering. “I’m okay. It’s just…you know.”_

_“Yeah.” Liam reached out towards Harry’s slender shoulder before stopping halfway, aborting the motion and letting his arm flop to the bed. “I’m so sorry. I can’t- I don’t know what to say. I’m so, so sorry about what I- what happened to Louis.”_

_Like the name itself was a trigger, Harry’s shoulders shook and a choked off sob fell from his lips. “I don’t know what to do,” he admitted. “I’m so angry.” He turned his hands over and looked at them, fingers stretched out wide like they were foreign to him. “I can’t do anything to fix this.”_

_“There is no fixing this,” Liam concluded and Harry shook his head. He was was probably thinking the same thing. The brown-eyed slave bit down on his lip nervously. “I’ve been thinking about some things the last couple of days.”_

_“Oh, yeah?” Harry asked, maybe grateful for Liam to take over the conversation. “About what?”_

_“Louis told me things.”_

_Harry’s head popped up so fast it had to hurt his neck. “What things? When?”_

_“After he died I think. I’m not sure. It was after the accident and I was hurt pretty bad. I think...I think I was dying, but I saw Louis. Clear as day.” Liam reached his arm out in front of him and looked off across the room. “He was right there in front of me.”_

_“What did he say?” Harry urged, leaning forward on the edge of his seat._

_“He told me to tell you and Niall something.”_

_“Oh, god,” Harry cursed and raked shaking hands through his wilted hair. “Tell me.”_

_“He wanted me to tell you that you couldn’t have stopped him from going. That it’s not your fault.” There was a lot of blame to go around but none of it landed on Niall and Harry’s shoulders._

_Another sob wracked Harry’s frame and a hand came up to steady himself on the edge of Liam’s bed. Liam laid his own hand over Harry’s, squeezing. “He also said to tell you that he loves you both. That-” He was unsure about this next part. The entire memory was fuzzy and Liam was half-sure he’d made the whole thing up._

_“What, Liam?”_

_“He said you were perfect to him.”_

_Harry’s entire body crumpled to the floor, sliding onto his knees and bowing to the weight of Liam’s words. “Lou,” he breathed between hiccuping gulps of air. “Lou, baby. I love you so much.”_

_Liam couldn’t stand it. He pulled back the covers and climbed out of the hospital bed, dragging his fluids rack with him to the other side of the bed before dropping to his knees and wrapping his arms around the other slave. “I’m so sorry, Haz. I can’t- I’m so sorry.” They had no idea how sorry he was._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My babies are both so wounded! I feel so terrible for them...but not terrible enough to just write a fairy tale book, you know? Whatever, I'm a literary sadist. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


	22. XXII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam needs to be forgiven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy (day after) #LeaveMeFriday. We're almost done with this final installment y'all. Only a couple more chapters. I'd love to know what y'all think so far and how you think it will end! Enjoy xo

They’d been back home for a few days and as far as Liam could tell, Niall hadn’t spoken a single word to anyone but Harry since he bellowed himself hoarse by the side of the road. Whenever he asked about the blond Master, Harry only patted him on the shoulder and attempted a smile. And even that seemed to hurt. 

 

Zayn made him swear not to tell Niall and Harry what actually happened to Louis, and Liam understood why, but that didn’t mean he agreed with him. The pair deserved to know that Louis died to save his life. After everything Liam had done, after what he did to Louis, he needed them to know that Louis was good to him.

 

The night before the funeral, Liam paced in front of their closet, unsure how he was going to make it through the proceedings without falling to the ground and begging them for their forgiveness. Liam deserved to be punished for what happened. He tried to explain that to Zayn, but all it got him was anxious demands that he “never,  _ never _ do anything to put himself in danger again.” Liam didn’t know what to do. The gnawing guilt ate away at his chest, right where his heart used to be, and he knew he had to atone for his mistakes. 

 

“Zayn?” Liam called from inside their closet, hand stroking the soft fabric of his good suit where it hung on the edge of the door. 

 

His Master peeked his head out from their en suite with a “yeah, babe.” 

 

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Liam waited, couldn’t really bring his head up as he heard Zayn’s light footsteps coming his way. Only when the dark-haired man placed a hand under his chin did Liam lift his heavy eyes. Zayn was looking into him, seeing everything that plagued him in a brief moment. 

 

“What do you need?” he asked, voice steady and sure. 

 

Liam knew what he needed but he couldn’t say it out loud. He’d never asked for this before… “I can’t-”

 

“Do you want to go to bed early?” Zayn prompted, hand smoothing up his arm in a gentle token of affection. “I’ll wrap you up in my arms and you can do whatever you need: cry, squeeze me-”

 

“No,” Liam interrupted. “I don’t want you to...be nice to me.”

 

Zayn’s brows shot up but otherwise, he didn’t make a move. His hand froze on Liam’s bicep. “Oh.”

 

Liam’s cheeks flushed scarlet. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t know how…” He stepped back, tried to shake off Zayn’s hand but it gripped him tight.

 

“You should go lie down on the bed,” the Master offered.

 

“I didn’t mean for you to-”

 

Zayn dug his fingers into Liam’s arm harder. “Go lay down. On the bed.”

 

A shudder rippled down Liam’s spine as he nodded and stepped around the lithe man to crawl onto their bed. He turned around once positioned in the middle of the mattress and sat cross-legged, looking at Zayn across the room with a sort of fond terror at what might happen tonight.

 

Zayn turned and went into their closet, deeper than Liam had been, deeper than where their clothing hung until Liam lost sight of him. “Take your clothes off,” Zayn called from within and it jolted Liam with its power. He startled into action, tugging up his shirt over his head. He was already clammy with nerves, hands shaking and sweaty at the nape of his neck from having to ask for this. 

 

His Master had given him his first command of the evening and Liam didn’t want to- couldn’t stand to- fail already. He needed to prove that he had some redeeming quality. Obedience would have to be that quality for tonight; hopefully, it would be enough.

 

He shimmied out of his sweats and pants hurriedly when he heard a rustle inside the closet. He’d just pushed everything off the edge of the bed when Zayn came back with an armful of stuff that they’d only used once or twice since their pairing, and definitely not all at the same time. For a relationship that completely orbited around their power dynamic, they hadn’t really played into what that meant sexual too often. Usually, Liam was glad to have Zayn do most of the work, bend him over and open him up and make him come. Tonight, it looked like Liam would be working for his release. 

 

“Turn over and lay down on your stomach,” Zayn ordered, easy but so sure that Liam didn’t dare delay. Liam saw Zayn laying the supplies down on the bed as he turned over, but then the Master disappeared down to the foot of the bed and the brown-eyed slave was too afraid of disobeying to look down at him. 

 

Without warning, his leg was pulled taut, stretched out towards the corner of the bed. Liam huffed in surprise and finally tilted his head down to try and see. Zayn’s hand was curled firmly around his ankle while a long, slender rope was laid across it. Zayn coiled it around the elegant curve above his foot, laying each strip perfectly in place next to the previous one. 

 

Liam gasped at the sensation of the tightly twined cord against his skin- it wasn’t irritating but it put him off-kilter. Zayn had held his hands down, behind his back, pinned the slave under him while they fucked, but this...Liam had never been tied up like this before. It was exhilarating and simultaneously terrifying. 

 

But this was his punishment. Zayn was giving him what he’d asked for and in the end, Liam would be clean again. Liam’s eyes had already slipped closed, but then a deeper shade of darkness took over as fabric was pushed over his eyes. Before he could get his bearings, two slick fingers were pressed to his tight entrance. Zayn slipped both in slow, just the tips and Liam’s mouth fell open on a moan. 

 

Zayn worked him openly more roughly than usual, pulling at his rim and shoving deep to make Liam shiver. Just when his body began to open up and relax around the two digits, Zayn pulled out. Liam whined but it was cut off when the blunt tip of something replaced his fingers. “I’m going to keep you open so I can slip right in later,” Zayn told him and Liam’s fingers grappled for the rope- something to hold onto. By the time all four of his limbs were tied to the corners of their bed, he’d gotten used to the absolute black of being blindfolded, and his hole was stuffed full, Liam was hazy, his eyes unfocused and heart beating fast. 

 

Zayn’s voice whispered low, just barely penetrating the fog over Liam’s mind. “You know what to do if you want me to stop.” Something cool and smooth brushed up the back of Liam’s leg. “Tell me what you’ll do if you want me to stop, Liam.” 

 

That was a command. Liam blinked his eyes hard and thought through what his Master had just said. “Um...red, red.”

 

“Very good,” Zayn praised and then gentle lips pressed to the round peek of his ass. “Take what I give you tonight,” he instructed as his lips wandered across the small of Liam’s back, “and then tomorrow you’ll be brand new.”

 

A sob caught in Liam’s chest.  _ Yes _ , that was exactly what he wanted. 

 

Zayn’s lips disappeared and then a moment later, sharp stinging ripped across Liam’s skin and he cried out, instinctively trying to cover his ass with his hands. When he came against the obstruction of the rope, he growled, frustrated and confused. 

 

Zayn’s hands were on him in an instant, smoothing up the glistening line of his back to his shoulders where he massaged the tense bunch of muscles. “Don’t fight me, baby. Be good.” God did Liam want to be good. He was fairly sure he’d never be good again, but if he could be good for Zayn in this one instance, then he’d do everything in his power to make it so. Liam consciously relaxed his body, melting into the mattress and letting the pain radiate freely through him. 

 

“There you go. What a good boy,” Zayn cooed and Liam’s blood sang with delight. It also rushed south so fast it left him dizzy. He situated his hips against the bed, trying to give himself enough friction to satiate the sudden need, but Zayn’s hand stilled him, curling harshly around his tan hip. “Take only what I give you, Li. Stay still.”

 

With a deep sigh, Liam nodded into the bedding and accepted his fate. Zayn stepped back and only gave a grunt before the next hit slapped down. Liam still screamed but he didn’t try to curl in on himself. He forced his body to allow this punishment, one hit after the next until he was sobbing. The bedding beneath his mouth and his cock were damp and Liam was languid in his bindings. 

 

Zayn climbed onto the bed, shifting Liam who was too glazed over to care, and straddled his slave’s thighs. “That’s my baby,” the Master purred and squeezed Liam’s inflamed cheeks in his hands. “You did so well. Now it’s over. You’re not being punished anymore.” He leaned forward and gripped Liam’s chin in his hand, yanking his head further around to look at the dark-haired man. “You’re not bad, understand?”

 

Liam didn’t understand, but he believed him all the same. Zayn was always right. Liam should know by now. He nodded and smiled when Zayn kissed his shoulder in reward. “I’m going to fuck you now, babe. Your reward,” Zayn informed him, and Liam’s ass clenched at just the promise. He groaned and nodded in agreement.

 

Zayn huffed a laugh and tapped the flat end of the plug before slipping it out, not waiting to take its place and slide home inside his slave. They moaned in unison, two deep, needy voices filling the air. Zayn fell to both elbows, bracing himself just above Liam’s back. He rolled his hips, teasing Liam’s spot just enough to make the slave inhale sharply. 

 

“Don’t worry, love. I’ll give you what you need,” Zayn promised and started up a hard, jaunting rhythm with quick thrusts and breaths of fire. Liam’s entire body just kept getting tighter and moretense, hips grinding down into the bed and back into Zayn. “Come one, Li. Whenever you want.” 

 

Zayn’s words were staccato, cut short with lust and determination. He was pistoning faster, chasing his own orgasm and sending Liam over the edge. The slave clenched tight and shot his release between his stomach and the bed, followed quickly by his Master. Zayn collapse down on top of his slave and panted into his neck. 

 

“So good,” the Master gasped. “You’re so good for me.”

 

Liam squirmed, floaty and smiling, until Zayn pulled out, untied him- leaving the blindfold in place- and curled them up together to fall asleep sated and whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a small reprieve from the horrid rollercoaster I know I've put you guys through. Hope it will suffice for now :)
> 
> Also, I just wanted to mention that a friend and I are working on a collaborative few chapters to add to my multi-shot We Own You. If you haven't read, you can find it in my shot collection. Keep a lookout for it sometime in the near future I hope. Mwah! Xoxo, Jess

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think.
> 
> P.s. I am looking for someone to help beta this to move things along. If you're interested message me. 
> 
> Mwah! Xoxo, Jess


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